Netflix To Crack Down On Password Sharing
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Are you that person who pays for everyone else's Netflix account? If so, the scroungers might finally be kicked to the curb, as the streamer is apparently testing out a feature which will seek to end password sharing across different households once and for all.
Several Netflix users have reported prompts coming up on their screens in recent weeks, reading: "If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching."
Following this prompt, users are then asked to verify they own the account using an email or text code.
And if they can't succeed on this step, they're offered a 30-day free trial, and asked to set up their own account instead.
This really is a sad day for everybody who still uses their ex from 2011's password...
While Netflix doesn't explicitly ban password sharing, it does specify that passwords shouldn't be shared "with individuals beyond your household".
"The Netflix service and any content viewed through the service are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household," the streamer's terms of use read.
"During your Netflix membership we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access the Netflix service and view Netflix content."
Similar password rules apply to other streaming sites, like HBO Go, Amazon Prime and Disney+, although they have not followed suit when it comes to chasing up password sharers, yet.
It comes after Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings said in 2016, during a webcast: "Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because there's so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your spouse, with your kids, so there's no bright line, and we're doing fine as is."
Netflix bagged almost 37 million new subscribers last year, and now has more than 200 million subscribers worldwide.
Their apparent U-turn on fighting password sharing will come as a disappointment to many, who have managed to blag a free Netflix for years.
However, there might be some people breathing a sigh of relief, after losing track of exactly who was using their account many moons ago.
Exact details of if and when the Netflix trial will run across all accounts are not yet known.