Some users of Netflix have been getting warning messages saying “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.“

This is apparently because the streaming provider has become aware of multiple different households sharing passwords and accounts, which is presumably something impacting the company’s number of paid subscriptions.

Speaking with the BBC, a Netflix spokesperson said: “This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorised to do so.”

Right now, it’s just a trial, but the company is considering rolling this out across its whole network in an attempt to crack down on unauthorised account sharing.

If someone sees the aforementioned warning message, then they can still access Netflix, but only via a code sent via email or text to the registered account holder’s details. So, although it’s harder for multiple households to share accounts, if they are still in contact with each other, then it does still seem possible.

Netflix is branding it as a crackdown on ineligible users, which as previously speculated in this article… is most likely their polite way of saying that they want each user/household to buy their own subscription, rather than share the login details of others.

Leading streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime and Disney+, all allow users to create multiple profiles within a single account. In those examples, the terms and conditions do specify that the profiles are meant to be used by people who all live in the same household.

Reed Hastings is the Netflix co-founder, and in a 2016 webcast he stated: “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because there’s so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your spouse, with your kids, so there’s no bright line, and we’re doing fine as is.”

Greg Peters is the chief product officer at Netflix, and in 2019 he gave a statement saying the company was looking into whether password sharing was becoming an issue, but said it had no “big plans to announce at this time in terms of doing something differently there”.

2020 was a big year for Netflix, and has gained over 37 million new subscribers, which can presumably be partly linked to people spending more time watching screens during the pandemic lockdown.

One of the hidden gems on Netflix, is an electronic music documentary called What We Started.

H/T: BBC News