We’ve known for awhile that Netflix would begin to crackdown on password sharing in 2023. Now, we know how the streaming service plans to do it.
“To ensure uninterrupted access to Netflix, connect to the Wi-Fi at your primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days. This creates a trusted device so you can watch Netflix, even when you’re away from your primary location,” Netflix wrote in an updated FAQ. Multiple people can use a single account, as long as they’re within a single household — and they watch something at least once a month. But what about, for instance, if your mom and dad in another state try to use your account? “Netflix will prompt users who try to sign into your account elsewhere to sign up for their own account instead and block their access until they do,” according to The Streamable.
Don’t worry, it gets more convoluted!
Signing into Netflix outside of your home may lead to the device in use being blocked from Netflix. This could prevent you from signing into new devices while traveling, but Netflix has devised a workaround. Traveling users who want to use Netflix on a hotel smart TV, company laptop, etc. can request a temporary code from the service when signing in. This will give them access to their account for seven consecutive days.
It’s unclear if you can ask for a month’s worth of seven-day codes. In fact, a lot is unclear! Hopefully Netflix will clear up the confusion before the password sharing crackdown is implemented next month. Better watch Wednesday on your ex-girlfriend’s account while you still can.