Netflix to end password sharing in early 2023
Netflix will begin cracking down on password sharing starting in 2023 in hopes of spurring password piggybackers to create new accounts.
Credit: David Balev/Unsplash
Netflix says that 100 million viewers watch the service using passwords borrowed from friends or family members. While the service historically has looked the other way, it's preparing to roll out measures to shut down the practice.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Netflix considered consumer backlash when it began plans to end password sharing. The company considered a gradual reduction in password sharing to test the waters.
It also considered adding pay-per-view content to its catalogs, which could make users wary of sharing their passwords for fear of others running up their bill. However, according to those familiar with the situation, the company has eschewed this idea in favor of keeping a simpler interface.
It's unclear how Netflix will combat password sharing yet, and consumers likely won't know until 2023. What is clear, however, is Netflix's rules for password sharing. According to its Help Center, the company says accounts can only be shared by those who live together, and it would enforce the rules by monitoring users' IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity.
The measures come at a time when Netflix has seen negative growth for the first time in a decade. The company lost roughly 200,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
Netflix hopes to ease the transition for new subscribers by offering a lower-cost, ad-supported tier. It also has rolled out a new "Transfer Profile to a New Account" feature, which retains viewing history and personalized information for a smoother experience.
The company recently added a feature that allows subscribers to remove log-ins from their account, as well.
Read on AppleInsider
Credit: David Balev/Unsplash
Netflix says that 100 million viewers watch the service using passwords borrowed from friends or family members. While the service historically has looked the other way, it's preparing to roll out measures to shut down the practice.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Netflix considered consumer backlash when it began plans to end password sharing. The company considered a gradual reduction in password sharing to test the waters.
It also considered adding pay-per-view content to its catalogs, which could make users wary of sharing their passwords for fear of others running up their bill. However, according to those familiar with the situation, the company has eschewed this idea in favor of keeping a simpler interface.
It's unclear how Netflix will combat password sharing yet, and consumers likely won't know until 2023. What is clear, however, is Netflix's rules for password sharing. According to its Help Center, the company says accounts can only be shared by those who live together, and it would enforce the rules by monitoring users' IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity.
The measures come at a time when Netflix has seen negative growth for the first time in a decade. The company lost roughly 200,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
Netflix hopes to ease the transition for new subscribers by offering a lower-cost, ad-supported tier. It also has rolled out a new "Transfer Profile to a New Account" feature, which retains viewing history and personalized information for a smoother experience.
The company recently added a feature that allows subscribers to remove log-ins from their account, as well.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
It's not only the IP address Netflix knows. They know the MAC address/ID of the modem and home devices you are using to connect to the internet. And most likely, its the modem your ISP provided you with when you got your account with them. So if your IP address changes but you're still using the same modem and home devices, then Netflix will figure out your provider changed your IP address.
Plus your IP address reveals the provider that owns that IP address and most likely what city that IP address is in. So even if your provider changed your IP address, Netflix will at least know whether that new IP address is from the same provider and in the same city. Problems might arise if you get a new provider and thus a new modem.
I have a Netflix account since they were just a DVD rental by mail and have never had a problem with my dynamic IP address in over 15 years of streaming from them. And I changed ISP at least twice during this time. But Netflix was more lax about sharing back then.
A cousin shared her password with her daughter, who shared it with others. She got locked out of her account. So she changed her password and never shared it again. I see no issue with sharing it with a loved one/within the family. And Netflix has account settings and plans to do just that. It's BS to be sharing it with multiple people outside of the family/home to the point that you are stealing.
Apple have the perfect solution with their family plans. This allows multiple Apple ID accounts to use the same subscription. Why can't Netflix do that?
It will eliminate those who got the password from friends and would not be a major issue. The other thing Netflix could do is force a password upgrade.
Reasonable for the extremely large amount of content ( and Very different tastes from our child's ).
If Netflix were to query past my firewall or other protections they would find so many local addr eg 192.10.16.2 which could match many other devices & would probably show massive duplications....
....oh, the chaos of all!