For quite some time now, Netflix has been threatening to make the move. Next year, it looks like it will be fully implemented. Next year, the streaming service wants to end password and account sharing. However, it is unclear exactly how it intends to implement this plan.
Hand on heart, how many of you really pay for your Netflix account? According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, you should think about getting your own account next year. That’s because Netflix plans to crack down on password and account sharing from 2023.
In previous years, the streaming company had already called attention to not sharing personal user data with friends and family. Even though there was a subscriber boom during the pandemic years 2020 to 2021, the numbers are currently declining again.
The following figures show how problematic (and thus loss-making) account sharing is for Netflix. Currently, there are 223 million Netflix subscribers worldwide who pay monthly for the streaming service. Over 100 million users borrow the password from this paying clientele. This means that almost one in three users shares the access data with another person. For other companies that do not have a market value of 128 billion US dollars, this could mean financial ruin.
How to check for improper sharing?
In principle, if people who share a Netflix account live together under one roof, everything is fine. But this is not always 100% comprehensible. For example, what about children of divorce who commute between two households? Or employees who travel a lot for work reasons? Students who live at their place of study during the week and return home at rather irregular intervals could also be such a problem case.
Ostensibly, Netflix wants to check IP addresses, device IDs and account activity to determine exactly who is living with whom. However, the streaming service does not explain how the aforementioned borderline cases will be dealt with.
Test runs in Latin America
The strongholds of account sharing are the Latin American countries, according to Netflix. If an account is shared here, a verification code is sent to the subscriber. This must be entered within four quarters of an hour. After that, the “account borrower” can watch undisturbed until the next session. If these logins multiply, the subscriber is eventually asked to pay an additional sum for further users. This additional fee allows two more users to access the account.
Netflix also wants to follow this concept in the USA in 2023. Later in the year, Europe could also be affected by these changed terms of use.
