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Netflix Tests Cracking Down on Password Sharing

ManaByte

Gold Member

Netflix is testing a new feature that could signal the start of an effort to crack down on password sharing.

Spotted by GammaWire, some viewers attempting to use somebody else's account are now being stopped by a screen that says, "If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching."

Netflix confirmed the new feature, which is getting a limited rollout at this time. "This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so – both by the member who owns the account and under our Terms of Service," a Netflix spokesperson said.

In order to continue watching, the viewer is given the option of either verifying their identity (with a texted or emailed code to the account's owner), or opting to "verify later," which gives the viewer an unspecified additional amount of time to continue watching and later confirm they are a valid account user.
 
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"In order to continue watching, the viewer is given the option of either verifying their identity (with a texted or emailed code to the account's owner)"

Okay we still good.....for now.
 

Fbh

Member
Netflix is the one streaming service I'm basically permanently subbed to because my mom uses my account.
If they crack down on account sharing I guess it's going into the "subscribe for 1-2 months a year if there's anything good I haven't seen" tier alongside all the others.
 
In order to continue watching, the viewer is given the option of either verifying their identity (with a texted or emailed code to the account's owner)

That's basically what HBO Go does and I only got like two requests from the people I'm sharing with.
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
I am fine with an extra step of getting a code from who I share with. Its annoying but I am literally paying nothing.
 
Yet they sell a more expensive package that allows 4 users at once.

Fuck off their original stuff has got worse and the selection of non Netflix originals is shit. Even prime is better for tv series these days.
 
lol, I'm surprised they haven't cracked down on people using VPN. You can get three months for like 6€ here if you use foreign gift cards. Seems like a much more pressing issue to me.
 

quickwhips

Member
Imagine harassing paying customers. You pay for streaming so many devices at once. Ip address don't matter hence phone vs home isp. I'm using plex but still had a netflix account. Just another reason to get rid of it
 

YCoCg

Member
Already cancelled Netflix after their recent price increase but my gf is using a shared family account so it's funny to see Netflix squirm, here's an idea, stop wasting money on shitty content no one wants.
 

sol_bad

Member
I think this is good, for all you know a family member may have told a friend the log in details and that friend told another friend etc.
It's a good way of cutting down unauthorised access.
 
Yet they sell a more expensive package that allows 4 users at once.

Fuck off their original stuff has got worse and the selection of non Netflix originals is shit. Even prime is better for tv series these days.
To bad my GF still wants to be subscribed all the time.
I would jot pay for it anymore.
Across all platforms Netflix is the worst value for money
 

Ionian

Member
I think this is good, for all you know a family member may have told a friend the log in details and that friend told another friend etc.
It's a good way of cutting down unauthorised access.

Made that mistake in college, was a Microsoft site that was free to students. Installed it for devices more than I should have.

Had to deliver my thesis with a pirating warning displayed on a big screen in front of 3 professors. I'd stopped noticing on my laptop, they didn't. My PC one was still OK, didn't realize the laptop would rat me out.
 

gradient

Resident Cheap Arse
This will help shed the unknowing freeloaders like ex partners and old friends you forgot about. Other than that it seems its business as usual.

Basically, this.

It's not going to stop anyone from sharing with people they want to share with because all they'll have to do is give them the code that is emailed or texted to them.

It will however lead to people freeloading on other people's accounts e.g. people who stole the password, exes or others who the owner may not know are using their account, to lose access.

Probably the thin ond of the wedge but right now the proposal is perfectly reasonable.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
This will help shed the unknowing freeloaders like ex partners and old friends you forgot about. Other than that it seems its business as usual.
Yeah this isn't a big deal as long as the frequency of verifying is very low. If I have to text my wife every other day for a password then this will become a deal breaker.
 
Let me guess. This is it right

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Maybe if they made 2 factor authentication mandatory, it would weed out a lot of it?
 
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HarryKS

Member
I wish they'd stop making a big deal of the documentaries they produce. It's not meant to be CuriosityStream.
 
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