Netflix Password Sharing May Soon Be History

Sharing Passwords to Netflix and Other Streaming Services May Soon End

In order to boost profits, Netflix is looking at cracking down on users who use the same password outside their home network.

The golden days of TV streaming for many may soon come to a screeching halt. Netflix is looking at possibly limiting who can share and use a Netflix account outside a user's home network.

Some Netflix users are reporting a message appearing on their TV screen.

"If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” Then to keep watching, the viewers must first verify the Netflix account by entering a code that is sent either by E-mail or Text Code. Or instead, they have the option to create a new account with a 30-Day Free Trial.

For now, they are testing this out to make sure it does not backfire and cause subscribers to cancel their Netflix account in favor of another streaming service like Disney+ or Hulu.

If you read all the fine print in their terms of service, it always said passwords should only be shared witing the same household. And as of yet the company has really not done much to crack down on account sharing with friends and family.

But as they face more competition, and global growth reaches a plateau, and users stop subscribing in favor of other streaming services, which there are now many. They may be forced to crack down and enforce account sharing more stringently to boost sagging profits.

Most likely we will see more companies adopting the same strict rules on their subscribers.

How Many Netflix Streams Can You Watch At The Same Time?

If you subscribe to their $13.99/mo HD Standard Plan you can stream to two devices at once. With their $17.99 month Netflix Premium 4K plan, you are allowed to stream up to four devices at the same time. Their $8.99/mo Basic plan which is SD, only allows a single stream at a time.

Unintended Consequences of a Password Sharing Crackdown

Password sharing has allowed many cord-cutters to access more content by supplementing paid streaming services that they subscribe to and sharing other paid subscriptions to maximize their cash flow.

One thing that could happen if companies do come down hard on password sharing is greater subscriber churn. Instead of subscribing to Netflix month after month, and year after year like many of their subscribers do now. Many instead may opt to cancel their service after only a few months and subscribe to another streaming TV service for a few months and so on...

Another unforeseen consequence is we could see an increase in piracy. The biggest damper on piracy has been the widespread availability of low-cost legal streaming services. Once these begin to dry up in favor of higher prices and crackdowns on account sharing. Many users will simply return to downloading their content from illegal sources for free. Which is really unfortunate.

So it's a good thing Netflix is testing this on a limited basis before fully implementing a major crackdown on account sharing. Because while many great ideas often sound great in the boardroom, they sometimes backfire with unintended consequences.

Don't Miss this Awesome List of Netflix New Releases

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