Sharing Netflix accounts and passwords is getting harder: The streaming service is now testing new measures to prevent account sharing in the future. Strictly speaking, giving Netflix access to people outside of your own household is a violation of the Terms of Use.
Netflix is testing new measures against account sharing
This is how Netflix wants to take action against account sharing: At the moment, individual users report being greeted by a warning message when logging into Netflix.
If you belong to the household of the subscription, you can confirm this with a code via e-mail or SMS. If this request is not complied with within a certain period of time, access will remain blocked.
However, those who do not belong to this household are asked to take out a trial subscription or to create their own account. They are then excluded from using his friend’s film and TV offerings.
Theoretically, however, it would still be possible for the account holder to simply provide the non-household person (s) with the verification code. Everyone has to judge for themselves whether this would prove to be too cumbersome for one or the other user.
Netflix confirmed to US sites such as TheHollywoodReporter or TheVerge that this method is currently being used on a random basis. The entire user base of the streaming service should therefore not (yet) be confronted with the screen warning described. Golem also found out that the tests are currently not being carried out in Germany.
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Every third user shares their Netflix access: As reported by CNBC, market researchers have found that around 33 percent of Netflix users share their access data with at least one person outside the household.
The fact that Netflix is now more vehemently against account sharing, after it was tolerated for years, is likely to contribute to the growing streaming competition: New and old providers such as Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, HBO Max or Apple TV + are increasingly fishing in the same waters and the market is becoming more and more competitive.
If you share your account, you are violating the terms of use: If you give your Netflix access to someone outside the household, you are actually violating the terms of use of the streaming service. You can see the following passage from them:
“The Netflix Service and any content viewed through the Service is for your personal, non-commercial use only and may not be shared with anyone who does not live in the same household.”
It remains to be seen whether German Netflix users will be confronted with the same hurdle in the foreseeable future. What is certain, however, is that the streaming service is working to make sharing accounts more difficult in the future.
Incidentally, Netflix recently increased its prices – but not for everyone. You can read more about this in our corresponding message on the subject.
Currently, Netflix in Germany only limits the number of devices on which Netflix can be viewed at the same time. Depending on the subscription model you choose, you can watch videos and films from the streaming service on one to four devices at the same time.