Netflix explains exactly how it’s going to ruin everyone’s account-sharing good time
Piracy and account sharing have been the two biggest revenue killers for thebest streaming serviceslike Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+. In the last few years, we’ve seen Netflixtake a hard standagainst account sharing and dabbling with countermeasures to limit the practice. Those efforts are getting more and more serious, and while we’ve known that change is coming, it’s been unclear exactly how this clampdown would look. We’re now starting to get our first sense of these restrictions, as Netflix shares its device-blocking strategy for shared accounts.
Netflix will have subscribers define a primary location for their accounts, and devices not accessing the service from an associated IP addressrisk being blocked(viaEurogamer). You’ll need to use Netflix from these devices at least once a month to keep them active.
Clearly there needs to be some way to let you use your account while away from home, and to that end, Netflix will provide a temporary four-digit code. Codes stop working after a week, so unless you want your friends bugging you every seven days, Netflix is hoping you’ll nudge them to sign up for their own accounts.
Netflix has deployed these countermeasures only in Costa Rica for now. While nothing about password sharing is changing immediately for users in the US, speaking toThe Verge, a Netflix executive stated that paid sharing will roll out broadly in the first quarter of 2023.
Netflix has been testing aflat fee-basedsub-account creationsystem for account sharingin Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru since last year. These account sharing countermeasures haven’t made their way to the US, either
As with any system, the temporary code system has its potential loopholes — your pesky password-begging friends could now ask for the passwordandthe seven-day code when their devices get blocked. Netflix could permanently block devices repeatedly accessing your account from anywhere other than the primary location, but we aren’t too sure how reliable that would be. More than anything, this system feels like a deterrent, rather than an iron-fisted crackdown.
If you were leeching off a friend’s Netflix account and are affected by the anti-sharing measures, the streaming giant also has a tool tomigrate your watch historyand profile preferences to a new account. This can help ease the transition if you want to carry over your unwatched shows, movies, and content recommendations.
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