Netflix account holders feared the day the company finally cracked down on password sharing, but their first taste of what the streaming giant had in store for its users was a source of confusion and concern. There were both. People online were Mouth open by some unconfirmed report Netflix password sharing requires users to connect their device to their account every month, or if not That device is blocked.
Without an official announcement, Netflix updated its support page on Tuesday, detailing how to restrict users from sharing their accounts with people outside of their family. and it is still unclear how future password sharing restrictions will work.
as seen in wayback machinethe Tuesday version of the Help Center page details how “Anyone in your family… can use your account”, but devices not connected to that “primary location” can use your home Wi-Fi must be connected to Go to the Netflix app or website and watch something “at least once every 31 days.” Devices that aren’t logged in may be “blocked from watching Netflix”.
The old page also provides insight into specific ways to unblock Netflix when users are traveling or “away from major locations for long periods of time.” If the user is traveling, Netflix will provide the user with a temporary code to access Netflix for her 7 consecutive days.Otherwise, the streaming company reiterated that if you’re not part of a user’s “household,” you’ll have to sign up for your own account or else transfer account.
These clauses are no longer part of Latest version of the pageNo hint of the 31-day limit as of Wednesday morning ET. Instead, when a device used outside the home is signed in or used repeatedly, the streaming giant confirms the device by clicking a link sent to the account holder’s email or phone number. Users must enter the provided code within 15 minutes of requesting the link.
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If that bothers you, the page says “Your device may need to be verified periodically.”
Netflix’s support page details how users traveling or living in different homes do not need to check their devices. However, if the user is away from “home” for a period of time, the device may need to be rechecked.
Gizmodo reached out to Netflix to see if the company could clear up some of the mess, but didn’t hear back immediately. Remember, just a few years ago, Netflix encouraged users to share their passwords with loved ones.
The company continues to use the term “household” to describe the immediate family members of account holders, although at the time of reporting, The page that defines a “household” is currently blankThe company says it detects devices in your home using IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into your account. but, Older version of the Household page Details how the household changes during the device verification process.
What makes this even more confusing is what is it based on netflix plan Multiple people on the same account may be watching Netflix at once. Also weird that this doesn’t mention “paid sharing”. Netflix previously discussed its anti-password sharing initiativeThe company had told investors that they’d have to pay extra to share accounts with people they don’t live with, but the new help page made no mention of such a program.
Last year, Netflix rolled out a beta version of its crackdown on password sharing in several Latin American countries. Users complained that the system was unable to identify when users used their devices outside the homeThe fee for adding an additional person outside the household was $2 per month, but it’s not yet known how much it will cost US users and other countries. Still, Netflix was thrilled by the spike in new account signups in these test markets, and didn’t stop its attempts to stop users from sharing accounts.
