Password sharing could be banned in the next year, at least with people outside the household.
Update, 24 January 2023: Netflix has in one Letter to Shareholders announced on the results of the fourth quarter of 2022 that paid account sharing is to be introduced during the course of the first quarter of 2023. Accordingly, it can be expected by the end of March at the latest. However, the letter does not state which countries this applies to.
The exact wording is Later in Q1, we expect to start rolling out paid sharing more broadly
which roughly translates to Europe as: During the first quarter, we expect to begin rolling out paid account sharing more widely.
. We assume that Europey will then also be affected. So far, however, there have been no official statements on this.
You can find all the details about the measures and the first tests with them, which were carried out in Latin America last year, in the original article below this update.
Original article, December 22, 2023: Sharing passwords of a single Netflix account is an important issue for the streaming provider. In this way, an account can be used by several people without the additional people having to transfer additional costs to the streaming provider.
Nun plant Netflix according to a Wall Street Journal report to prevent the sharing of passwords in another region as early as 2023 – initially in the USA. What are the concrete details behind the project and what does that mean for Europey?
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Sharing of passwords only possible via access code
Basically, it’s nothing new that the streaming giant is interested in a solution to put a stop to account sharing. After all, Netflix hits where it hurts: in the sales figures.
The provider plans to charge people who share their accounts with others outside their household. The promised function has already been tested in Latin American countries.
Specifically, Netflix provides an add-on which is intended to enable sharing and charges 3 US dollars for it. Within these countries, the main account holder must provide a verification code to anyone outside the household. It will keep asking for input until the payment is made.
Also, how does the platform recognize a user of the main account holder’s household? Based on the IP address, device IDs and account activity, the streaming giant is said to recognize devices outside the paying household and thus enforce approval for use of the account.
In the past, the provider thought about alternative ways to counteract the parts of passwords. Accordingly, the pay-per-view model should encourage users not to share their passwords. Ultimately, however, the platform decided against it.
Finally, the terms of use are worth mentioning, which anyway do not allow the sharing of passwords or joint use outside of the household.
When exactly this model comes to Europey is still unclear. According to the linked report in the introduction, it could launch in 2023, at least in the US. At the same time, it should not be long before the change also arrives in other countries.
Are you loyal to Netflix anyway? Then we have 6 practical tips ready for you:
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What do you think of the streaming provider’s plans? Is it a long overdue action or would taking action make you switch platforms? Let us know what you think about it in the comments!
