Netflix is testing a new feature that could prevent non-subscribers from withdrawing a friend or family member’s account and preventing people from sharing passwords for the streaming service.
The new feature is being tested among a small random sample of customers from around the world. Selected users are asked to confirm that they are (or live with) the account holder when they enter their credentials to sign in to the video streaming platform. A code is sent to the subscriber, who is then asked to provide it to the user. Test subjects also have the option to scroll through the message and verify the account later to continue playing it or to create a new account.
“This test is designed to make sure people who use Netflix accounts are allowed to do so,” a Netflix spokesman told CBS MoneyWatch.
Netflix currently offers three different members: Top-tier subscribers can share their accounts with up to three household members.
A source familiar with the Netflix trial said it does not constitute a “repression,” but that the company is looking for “easy-to-consume ways to address password sharing and protect members of the process.”
The streaming platform also wants to protect its hundreds of millions of members from unauthorized use of their accounts. “The only way to stop it is to test our way to that kind of verification,” the source said, adding that the way Netflix can proceed is still “in the air.”
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings previously touched on password sharing without indicating any plans to take action. “Sharing passwords is something you have to learn to live with,” she said in 2016. “There’s so much legitimate password sharing, like sharing it with your spouse, with your kids, so you don’t there is no bright line and we are doing well as it is. “
Netflix has more than 200 million subscribers worldwide and recently increased its prices as its popularity continued to grow during the coronavirus pandemic. Transmission plans cost between $ 9 and $ 18 a month.