Netflix has begun its crackdown on UK and US subscribers who are sharing their password with people who live outside of their household, in a bid to stop account sharing. The streaming giant said a Netflix account was “for use by one household” and those wanting to share accounts “with someone who doesn’t live with you” must pay an extra £4.99 for the extra member in the UK, or eight dollars a month in the US.
It comes after the company, which has lost subscribers amid stiffer competition and rising inflation, began clamping down on account sharing last year in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, before rolling out the extra member subscription in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain in February.
Netflix said it has begun sending emails to customers in the UK about sharing between households.
A statement said: “Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are – at home, on the go, on holiday – and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices. We recognise that our members have many entertainment choices.
“It’s why we continue to invest heavily in a wide variety of new films and TV programmes – so whatever your taste, mood or language and whoever you’re watching with, there’s always something satisfying to watch on Netflix.”
An attached screenshot of the email detailed how customers could share their accounts.
But some users think they have figured out ways to get around the ban. Netflix users pay to have a certain number of people able to stream at once, and may - for example - want a student living away from home to keep access when they are at uni.
Website LifeHacker shared a number of steps you can take if you still want to watch Netflix without paying extra. But you should also bear in mind that as well as being against Netflix policy, sharing a password could be against the law.
LifeHacker wrote: "If you can, head over to the house of whoever’s account you use, sign in on your device or devices, then go home, and you should be able to watch without issue."
This is designed to get around the issue of all Netflix account users having to be on the same wi-fi, at least when they first sign in.
LifeHacker added: "The second workaround, however, is thanks to a loophole in Netflix’s policy: If you don’t watch Netflix on a smart TV or via a streaming box like a Roku or Apple TV, you don’t need to set a household for your account.
"So long as you keep your streaming to devices like phones, tablets, and laptops, it should feel like nothing’s changed. You could even cast your phone to your TV (or connect your laptop with an HDMI cable) to get the big screen experience, no extra monthly fee necessary."
According to the UK's Intellectual Property Office sharing a password could be a breach of copyright law.
Website Lexology says it could also be a breach of civil law, for which the streaming service could sue you.
They added: "Password sharing could also fall foul of the criminal justice system if the Police and Crown Prosecution Service felt there was sufficient evidence of fraud or other criminal copyright activity and a prosecution was in the public interest."
