It might soon become impossible for family and friends to share a Netflix account. It was good while it lasted, but the streaming juggernaut has now declared that password sharing will be severely punished.
The crackdown is expected to be launched in the coming months.
Netflix bosses told shareholders that over 100 million households engaged in account sharing, and it “undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business”. The company has plans for a new paid sharing system to launch “more broadly” in the first quarter of 2023.
At the moment, three countries – Costa Rica, Chile and Peru – are testing the new system, where anyone outside a household (those living in the same property) cannot use the same account. The company is using IP addresses, device IDs and account activity to monitor who is using the same accounts.
Anyone who does not reside in a household as defined by Netflix will need to open a separate account. However, a lot of participants in the pilot have questions about whether they may use their account away from home.
Let’s break down the new rules:
- Giving your login to people outside your home is officially no go.
This is the biggest change, the seed from which the other rules sprout and multiply. The company that infamously tweeted “Love is sharing a password” five years ago this March now specifies that if freeloaders outside your household want Netflix, they’ll have to pay for a new account.
- Expect to verify your devices at some point.
You’ll do that with a four-digit code sent to the account owner’s email with a 15-minute expiration window. You may also have to renew the credentials every once in a while. You’ll have to renew (i.e., log in into your home network) those credentials every 31 days, a.k.a. probably just after Netflix cancels its next critically acclaimed television series. Keep in mind that Netflix’s pricing plans differ on how many devices you can use simultaneously.
- Traveling with Netflix will only slightly suck.
Before, watching on the road on a laptop or tablet or phone or Apple TV you unplugged and tossed in your bag on the way out was a breeze. If you were already logged in, you were good. Set it and forget it. The new guidance states “If you are the primary account owner (or live with them), you shouldn’t need to verify your device to watch Netflix” while traveling, then follows it immediately with a paragraph stating that you may have to re-verify said device if you’re away for a longer than seven days.
- Netflix will be watching you more closely.
The company will “use information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account” to sniff out offenders.
