LOS ANGELES, CA: The days to share your Netflix account with friends and extended family can be numbered. It seems that the transmission giant is conducting a test to crack down on password sharing.
As reported for the first time by The Streamable, this week a select number of Netflix users began receiving a message asking them to verify their accounts by email or text. If they can’t, they will be asked to start their own account with a free 30-day trial.
“If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching,” the message says, according to screenshots. It is still unclear whether users must have the same IP address in order to be considered in the same home.
Earlier this week, some Netflix subscribers began to notice that it might be a little harder to “borrow” someone’s password. Http://t.co/ZN3GTECdKR pic.twitter.com/uMucB4C43l
– Michelle Manafy (@michellemanafy) March 12, 2021
Netflix has commented on the crackdown in a statement, saying, “This test is designed to help ensure that people who use Netflix accounts are allowed to do so.”
Although it is now common to share passwords with others, especially during a pandemic, Netflix’s terms of use explicitly state that its service and any of its content “are for personal, non-commercial use only and may not be shared. with people outside your home “.
Netflix has been the king of streaming streaming for years, but with more and more emerging platforms, customers have to choose which services they want to pay for and the company is likely to try to maintain its dominance in the market.
A survey by research company Magid found that about a third of subscribers to platforms like Netflix share their password with someone outside their home. With so many services to pay for, people usually split the burden, each paying a few and sharing their bills.
As for Netflix pricing, after a 30-day trial, you can pay $ 8.99 a month for the “basic” streamer plan, where only one screen can be streamed at a time. The next plan, “Standard,” costs $ 13.99 a month and Netflix can be streamed on two screens at once. The company’s “premium” plan costs $ 17.99 a month and four screens can be streamed at once.