How Netflix will crack down on password sharing: Streaming giant accidentally shares key details before hastily deleting them – here’s everything you need to know
- Netflix has revealed how it will police ‘password sharing’ from next month
- Devices that log in outside of the account holder’s home will need to be verified
- This could be by having to log in at their home Wi-Fi network every 31 days
Netflix has caused panic among its users over the last few weeks, having announced a crackdown on password sharing.
How and when this will work remained largely unclear, until the tech giant briefly posted key details on its website this week.
Eagle-eyed users spotted details on the US and UK help pages, although these were swiftly removed.
They suggest that users will have to connect to Wi-Fi at their primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days.
This could cause issues for users who no longer live with, or even nearby, the primary account holder.
Netflix has revealed how it will crack down on password sharing when the ban is enforced as soon as next month
Last month, a Netflix earnings report revealed plans to roll-out a ‘paid sharing’ option. With the new option, one account will also be able to be used on one or more devices away from the primary household. The option has already been tested in select Latin American countries
While the details have been removed from the US and UK pages, they remain on the FAQ pages for Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.
HOW WILL NETFLIX STOP PASSWORD SHARING?
New rules trialled in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica give a hint at how Netflix will stop password sharing.
Each Netflix account is linked to a single ‘Netflix Household’ – the home and Wi-Fi network of the bill payer – and anyone who lives there can log in to it using any device.
Netflix says it can tell when a new device is using an account by its IP address and device ID, as well as by what the user is watching.
Accounts may soon have to be logged into by a device in the Netflix Household every 31 days to turn it into a ‘trusted device’.
A trusted device will be able to be used to watch Netflix even when away from the home Wi-Fi network.
Non-trusted devices that log in to the account away from the Netflix Household ‘may be blocked from watching Netflix’.
Each Netflix account is linked to a single ‘Netflix Household’ – the home and Wi-Fi network of the bill payer – and anyone who lives there can log in to it using any device.
But the new guidelines say that the account must be logged into by a device in the Netflix Household every 31 days to turn it into a ‘trusted device’.
A trusted device can be used to watch Netflix even when away from the home Wi-Fi network.
Devices which log in to the account away from the Netflix Household and have not done so in the past month ‘may be blocked from watching Netflix’.
If you go travelling, you can request a four digit code to be sent to the bill payer, and when that is entered you will be able to continue watching.
These details of how password policing will work were meant to just be guidelines for trials in the three South American countries.
However, they were accidentally shared publicly to other countries on Wednesday.
They have now been deleted from the FAQ pages of countries other than Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.
The details now listed on the Help Centre pages for other countries, including the UK, say the verification process is slightly different.
They say that if an account is signed into or used persistently outside of the primary household, the account holder will be asked to ‘verify’ the device it was used on.
To do this, Netflix will send a link by email or or text, which opens a web page showing a four digit code.
Devices which log in to the account away from the Netflix Household and have not done so in the past month ‘may be blocked from watching Netflix’ (stock image)
If you go travelling, you can request a four digit code to be sent to the bill payer, and when that is entered you will be able to continue watching
This code needs to be entered using the new device within 15 minutes before it expires, and the other user is left locked out of the account.
Netflix can tell when a new device is using an account by its IP address and device ID, as well as by what the user is watching.
The streaming giant says that it will not ‘automatically charge’ the account holder if their account is logged into outside their household.
It adds that verification will only be requested when the account is used away from the Netflix Household for an ‘extended period of time’.
This means that subscribers should not need to worry if they go on a short holiday, but they will need to request to change the Netflix Household if they move house.
Netflix currently has different price plans which each allow a different number of devices connected to the home internet to use a single account.
‘Basic’ and ‘Basic with adverts’ – priced at £6.99 and £4.99 per month respectively, allow for only one device in the Netflix Household to be logged in.
A ‘Standard’ plan, which costs £10.99 a month, allows for two devices to log in, while the £15.99-per-month ‘Premium’ plan allows for three.
But, last month, a Netflix earnings report revealed plans to roll-out a ‘paid sharing’ option.
Netflix FAQs for Chile, Peru and Costa Rica say: ‘An extra member will have their own account and password, but their membership will be paid for by the person who invited them to join’
Each account already come with five ‘profiles’, but these are solely for use by one or more devices in the same Netflix Household.
With the new option, one account will also be able to be used on one or more devices not connected to the Wi-Fi network at this household.
This will involve an additional cost each month on top of the subscription fee.
The option has already been tested in select Central and South American countries, and will be rolled out towards the end of March.
How much paid sharing will cost in countries such as the UK is still to be revealed, but in Central and South America it’s been about the equivalent of £2 or £3 per profile per month.
Netflix stated: ‘Later in Q1, we expect to start rolling out paid sharing more broadly.
‘Today’s widespread account sharing (100M+ households) undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business.
‘We’ve worked hard to build additional new features that improve the Netflix experience, including the ability for members to review which devices are using their account and to transfer a profile to a new account.
For years the Netflix terms of service has said users of an account must live in the same household, but its not taken any solid action until 2023. It has certainly changed its tune since tweeting ‘Love is sharing a password’ back in 2017
Two million Brits cancelled streaming subscriptions last year
It seems not even Harry and Meghan could save Netflix, as two million subscriptions to video streaming services were cancelled in the UK last year.
New research has revealed that 860,000 fewer homes were signed up to at least one service, like Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video, in the final quarter of 2022 than 2021.
This has been pinned to the cost-of-living crisis, which saw Brits prioritise spending on essentials, such as food and energy, over access to TV shows and films.
Read more here
‘As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with.’
The extra guidelines for Netflix subscribers in Chile also reveal details about adding an ‘extra member’ to an account.
‘An extra member will have their own account and password, but their membership will be paid for by the person who invited them to join,’ they say.
Extra members can only have one profile and can only watch on one device at a time.
Netflix currently allows for up to five profiles on a single account, where each has its own algorithmically-powered viewing recommendations, viewing history and settings.
It originally designed this feature so that multiple members of a household, such as children, can enjoy content without having to start their own account and pay the monthly fee.
For years the Netflix terms of service has said users of an account must live in the same household, but its not taken any solid action until 2023.
It has certainly changed its tune since tweeting ‘Love is sharing a password’ back in 2017.
According to the Intellectual Property Office, password sharing on Netflix and other video streaming platforms breaks copyright law and is therefore illegal.
However, it is down to the companies themselves to take action through the courts if required – and there is no suggestion yet that Netflix would attempt to do so.
On Netflix, a single account can host up to five ‘profiles’, each individually named and curated for one person. Here, Anna is the account holder who pays the monthly cost; the others are just profile holders
Netflix seems to want to encourage those who are using someone else’s Netflix account to set up their own.
In October, it launched a tool called ‘Profile Transfer’ that lets freeloaders easily migrate their curated profile to a new account.
It means favourites, recommendations and viewing history are salvaged when profile owners start a Netflix account of their own.
To transfer a profile, users need to select the ‘Transfer Profile’ option on the dropdown menu on the homepage and then follow the instructions.
Netflix said 2022 had been a ‘tough year’ due to its first subscriber loss in more than a decade – its customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter
Following this, it has been working on new ways to bring in revenue.
In November last year, the company launched a ‘Basic with Ads’ subscription tier for £4.99 a month, that plays adverts before and during content.
Basic with Adverts shows an average of four to five minutes of adverts per hour of content, with each advert 15 or 30 seconds in length.
In October, Netflix launched a tool called ‘Profile Transfer’ that lets freeloaders easily migrate their curated profile to a new account
WHAT ARE THE VIDEO STREAMING OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO UK CUSTOMERS?
Netflix
Price: From £4.99 a month (with ads) or £6.99 a month (without ads)
Hit shows:
- Bridgerton
- Squid Game
Amazon Prime
Price: £8.99 per month OR £79 per year
Hit shows:
- Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
- The Boys
Apple TV+
Price: £6.99 a month
Hit shows:
- Ted Lasso
- For All Mankind
Disney+
Price: £7.99 a month OR £79.90 a year
Hit shows:
- The Mandalorian
- The Simpsons
NOW TV
Price: From £9.99 a month
Hit shows:
- Game of Thrones
- Chernobyl
hayu
Price: £4.99 a month
Hit shows:
- Keeping up with the Kardashians
- Made in Chelsea
BritBox
Price: £5.99 a month
Hit shows:
- Spitting Image
- Midsomer Murders
Prices correct as of January 2023
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