Taking serious note of password sharing, Netflix has started a new test that tells borrowers to create their own accounts and sign in using them. The test is fully blocking users from using the shared account. The testing is meant to stop people from sharing passwords with people who are not members of the same household. The message sent by Netflix reads, “You must sign in from your account to continue watching Netflix if you are not living with the owner of this account.” The message promoted users to sign up for ‘free today.’ Commenting on it, a company spokesperson said that Netflix keeps doing ‘hundreds’ of such tests every year with select customers.
The streaming giant in a statement said that these tests are being done to make sure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to use it and have not borrowed it from anyone else. The test could simply be a part of account security and may not lead to a crackdown on those using the passwords of others. According to a research firm, there is around 33 percent of users share their login passwords with at least one another person. Netflix does not give the option of screen sharing in its basic plan. However, the standard plan of the company allows users to watch Netflix on two screens simultaneously. While the basic plan costs USD 8.99 per month, the standard plant can cost USD 13.99.
So far the company has not done anything to stop users from sharing passwords. This is because the huge growth in subscribers along with the growing stock price is enough to offset any concern related to loss of revenue. Earlier this year, Netflix announced that it has topped over 200 million subscribers. The growth is despite the strong competition from other such platforms including AT&T’s HBO Max, Disney+, ViacomCBS’s Paramount+, and NBCUniversal’s Peacock. This is extremely important for the company as most of the players started making their presence felt during the lockdown.
