Netflix sharing passwords can become a thing of the past, if the latest feature the streaming giant is testing is a success. A new feature, which is currently getting a limited implementation, could be the start of an attempt to curb the sharing of passwords by the streamer, which has recently begun to change its passive attitude towards password policing.
According to reports from GammaWire and Streamable, Netflix is testing a new feature that could stop viewers from using someone’s account.
When signing in, some Netflix viewers see the following message: “If you do not live with the owner of this account, you will need your own account to continue watching.” To continue viewing content, they must first verify the account they are using with a code sent to the user’s email address or phone. If they are unable to verify the account or ‘verify later’, they will be asked to create their own account with a free 30 day trial.
Netflix has confirmed the new feature, which is still limited. “This test is designed to ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesman said.
Netflix does not explain how they determine who is in the same household, and whether a shared IP address is in the same household. According to Streamable, the test currently only appears on paired TVs, not on laptops or phones. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the implementation of the test version of this feature varies from country to country and is intended to “protect subscribers from concerns about the security that may arise from unauthorized use of their account.”
Netflix states in its terms and conditions that accounts ‘are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals outside your household’, but this has been a somewhat flawed attitude in the past regarding the sharing of passwords, with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings saying in 2016: ‘Sharing passwords is something you have to learn to live with, because there is so much legal sharing of passwords – like sharing with your partner, with your children part … so there is no bright line, and we’re doing well as it is. ‘
However, Greg Peters, chief product officer at Netflix, said in 2019 that the company wanted to limit the sharing of passwords among its customers, Newsweek reported. “We keep monitoring it, so we’re looking at the situation,” he said at the time, but conceded that Netflix “had no big plans to announce … to do anything else there.”
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