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Netflix can crack down on password sharing between users.
SAN FRANCISCO: The television streaming colossus Netflix on Friday was dabbling in more strictly enforcing its rule against sharing passwords with people living elsewhere, according to US media reports.
Some Netflix users who were apparently accessing other people’s accounts took to Twitter to share news of an apparent crackdown along with posting an ad telling them they had to be a subscriber to continue viewing the service.
Netflix included an offer to try the service free for 30 days, according to a copy posted on Twitter.
“Oh no, is Netflix doing the purge?” the Twitter user wrote in the post.
Netflix offers to verify who is trying to log into an account by sending a code via text message or email to the subscriber to confirm that the user lives with them.
“This test is designed to help ensure that people who use Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson was quoted as saying to US media outlets, including The Streamable, who broke the news.
It was not certain that the account user verification test would become an offense against the exchange of passwords throughout the service.
Nearly a third of subscribers to streaming TV services like Netflix share their passwords with people who don’t live with them, according to a survey conducted last year by consultancy Magid.
The practice has long been tolerated by California-based Netflix, which has said “security measures” are in place to prevent extreme abuse in password sharing.
People trapped at home due to the pandemic have turned to the internet for entertainment, from streaming television to online video games.
Late last year, Netflix solidified its leadership position in video sharing by surpassing 200 million paid subscribers worldwide for the first time.
