Netflix unveils new anti-account sharing measures

Netflix unveiled its new anti-account sharing measures that are meant to limit how users share their accounts with family and friends.

The new measures are a response to data showing that over 100 million users worldwide are using the streaming service through the login account of someone else. With them in place, Netflix hopes to gain a new infusion of revenue while making meaningful subscriber additions in key regions such as North America where it sees its highest share of market penetration.

While the new measures still allow accounts to be shared, they place strict limits on doing so, in a manner that attempts to limit the practice to a single location. (Read: Netflix password sharing may be a thing of the past)

Specifically, Netflix is now asking users to connect to the internet at their primary location, open the Netflix app or website and watch something at least once every 31 days.

Beyond that, Netflix will also prompt users who try to sign into an account elsewhere to sign up for their own account and block their access until they do. That said, the streaming service states that it will not begin automatically charging account holders whose credentials are used for logging in outside their homes.

While Netflix says it will offer a way for users who’re on the go to obtain a temporary code to be able to access their account outside of their own primary location, the current method still raises some questions.

For one, the primary code allows access for only seven consecutive days. But does this mean that users who’re staying at one location (outside their primary one) for longer than a week will lose access to Netflix once those seven days are up? Or can they simply request another code to extend that access for another seven days?

Then, what about subscribers who are constantly on the move and are away from their homes for months at a time like seamen, truck drivers, military personnel and the like? The new measures can possibly lead to these people not being able to access their accounts at all.

For its part, Netflix seems to be aware that the anti-account sharing measures may not be popular with its subscribers. Two of the services’ four price tiers will still allow multiple devices to use Netflix simultaneously—two for the Standard tier and four for the Premium tier.

Whether or not these will be enough to limit the flight of subscribers—especially with the rise of competing services like Disney+—remains to be seen.

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