At the very least, it wants you to stop sharing outside of your household.
The streaming service is conducting a test that’s reportedly limited to an unspecified number of TV devices to verify their accounts via emailed or texted codes.
The test varies from country to country, so you might not even see it.
The message some users are getting read: “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.”
Netflix says the test it’s conducting is partly to see if users are abiding by its terms of use and ward off account theft. A Netflix spokesperson told The Streamable, “This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so.”
“The Netflix service and any content viewed through our service are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household,” the company’s terms of use reads. It isn’t clear if all users have to be in the same IP address to be considered the same household.
For now, the test also offers a Verify Later option. But we don’t know how long you can click on that option until you’ll be forced to provide a code. Of course, you usually share your Netflix account with a loved one, so there’s no stopping the primary account holder from sharing the code with you.
But as Mashable pointed out, Netflix might not be trying to outsmart its users. Instead, it wants to annoy you enough by asking you to provide the code often so that you’ll just decide to get an account of your own. Of course, it might be a different conversation if Netflix only requires you to verify the device you’re using once.
Netflix’s only other significant move to curb account sharing is limiting the simultaneous streams allowed per account. Its priciest Premium tier allows up to four devices streaming at the same time.
It doesn’t look like most Netflix users have to worry about anything, for now. But perhaps the days of leeching off your friend’s Netflix account might be numbered. Maybe it’s time to start saving up for your own.
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