Popular streaming site Netflix has started its crackdown on people sharing passwords with those outside their household. Anyone wanting to use an account from a different place is being told they have to pay an extra £4.99 per person in the UK.
The change will have an impact on many families - some of which will have children who have moved away to live at university still using the family accounts - or will have got new homes. Netflix has begun sending emails to customers in the UK about sharing between households.
However, some of the other streaming giants are aiming to take advantage of the change by luring new customers driven away by the crackdown. Ironically Netflix previously said it was comfortable with users sharing their passwords, with the company making a joke on Twitter in 2017 that said: “Love is sharing a password”.
Netflix plans range from £4.99 to £15.99 a month. As Netflix forces users to set a home address (so it can determine who is sharing the subscription details) Prime Video is still offering a 30-day free trial to binge-watch everything on its service.
Thinking about ditching Netflix? Prime Video is free for 30-days and you can share your password
Watch everything on Prime Video for free
When the trial ends, if you decide to stick with Amazon Prime, you’ll be able to watch across up to four households with the same single subscription (in up to 4K Ultra HD quality too, something that Netflix also charges extra to do).
Prime Video costs £5.99. However, it’s also included as part of Amazon Prime, which costs £8.99, and also includes music streaming, next-day delivery on thousands of items from Amazon, unlimited cloud back-up for your photos and videos, a premium upgrade to Deliveroo, and much more. This is thanks to its 'household sharing' feature, it allows users to add another person to their account to give them Prime benefits, including free next day delivery.
Signing up now will get you access to the upcoming Prime Day sales. Reserved for Prime members only, Amazon is set to slash prices on its website for a full 48-hour period running this July 11 and 12.
Streaming platforms where you can share passwords
Moving on from Netflix and Amazon, there are a host of UK streaming sites that let users share their log in details. We've done a quick round-up of the membership T&C's to see what users can do for free.
Starting with Sky, who lets owners register up to as much as six devices to their account and give out details to friends and family to watch content, as long as it's through the Sky Go app. Customers can share their Sky ID which can then be used to log in on any device and from anywhere in the UK.
Next up is Apple TV+ who lets users share with friends and family through its 'family sharing' feature. Account holders can activate it through their iPhone settings (and select Apple ID) and invite people by adding their email address. This only works if friends and family have an Apple ID registered under their email address.
