Netflix has unveiled its plans to prevent password sharing between people in households outside of an account owner’s primary location, IGN reported.
According to IGN, the FAQ pages for US and UK Netflix subscribers currently highlight the devices that may require verification if they are not associated with the Netflix household or if they attempt to access an account outside the subscriber’s primary location for an extended period of time.
Subscribers who want to share their Netflix account with someone who doesn’t live with them can add an extra member to their account, IGN noted. Members can also transfer a profile from an existing account elsewhere, allowing them to keep their personalized data on another account.
The plan to convert “borrowers” – those who are currently using Netflix accounts that are owned by separate households – to paid subscribers is expected to roll out by the end of March, with the introduction of more account sharing restrictions and extra member fees in more countries.
Gizmodo reported that without any official announcement, Netflix updated its support page to detail how it plans to restrict users from sharing an account with folks outside their immediate household. However, the company made changes to the page after it was initially posted, and it still remains unclear just how upcoming restrictions on password sharing will work.
The Netflix website posted what appears to be the current information about account sharing on its website. There is a post titled “Sharing Your Netflix account”. That information includes:
- A Netflix account is for people who live together in a single household.
- Sharing Netflix with someone who doesn’t live with you
People who do not live in your household will need to use their own account to watch Netflix.
It is easy to sign up for Netflix and we offer a variety of plans. As always, members can change plans or cancel at any time.
When a device outside of your household signs in to an account or is used persistently, we may ask you to verify that device using the account is authorized to do so.
Netflix will not automatically charge you if you share your account with someone who doesn’t live with you.
- Verifying a device
When someone signs into your account from a device that is not associated with your Netflix household, or if your account is accessed persistently from a location outside of your household, we may ask you to verify that device before it can be used to watch Netflix. We do this to confirm that the device using the account is authorized to do so.
- How Netflix detects devices within a household
We use information such as IP addresses, device IDs and account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account.