An error on Netflix’s website has given insight into how the streaming giant might crack down on password sharing in coming months.
Netflix announced in March that it was closing loopholes that allowed password exchanges between households.
According to an internal note from May, Netflix had aimed to introduce stricter measures before the end of 2022. But there have been no signs of an imminent crackdown – until now.
A since-removed addition to Netflix’s help centre, spotted by tech blog The Streamable, indicated that Netflix might use wi-fi connections to determine if people were sharing log-ins between households.
The “primary location” for the account would be established using a wi-fi connection.
“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,” the update read.
“This created a trusted device so you can watch Netflix, even when away from your primary location.”
But if users wanted to log in to another device while travelling, such as a smart TV at an Airbnb, they would run the risk of that device being blocked, unless they take the required steps.
“When someone signs into your account from a device that is not part of your primary location, that device may be blocked from watching Netflix.”
In this case, Netflix said users must either request a temporary code from the account holder to allow access for seven days, or create a new account.
It sounds like Netflix has put a lot of thought into these plans, but they aren’t yet set in stone – and Netflix insists this was entirely by mistake.
A Netflix spokesperson told The New Daily that, for now, the information applied only to a handful of countries.
“For a brief time yesterday, a help centre article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica and Peru went live in other countries,” they said. “We have since updated it.”
In the trial in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, Netflix has begun charging customers extra to add additional users outside of their primary households.
What now?
Despite the plan not being in effect, except for those three countries, the information elicited plenty of online outrage.
In Australia alone, Netflix estimates that millions of households share passwords and use the same account, with hundreds of millions more across the globe.
Many people said they would reassess Netflix subscriptions based on the information.
One person called the wi-fi plan “wild”.
“They’re aware of long-distance relationships, kids in college, and poor people right?”
Other subscribers were quick to point out Netflix’s hypocrisy, based on prior claims about its product.
“Accounts are only meant to be used within one household,” said one user, referring to the help centre update.
“What a bait-and-switch from ‘Watch anywhere, anytime’ and ‘TAKE NETFLIX WITH YOU ANYWHERE’.”
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Some subscribers questioned what the rules might mean for those who exclusively used mobile data, and had no wi-fi connection. Netflix was unable to clarify this for TND.
It’s unclear exactly when Netflix plans to follow through with its global password crackdown.
However, a spokesperson told The Streamable that components of the crackdown would be staggered to allow users to plan.
In the lead up to the crackdown, Netflix is encouraging users to transfer profiles to new accounts, meaning they’ll still have access to their watch history and saved movies and shows.
