Netflix Begins Crackdown On Non-Same Household Account Sharing

Netflix users who are sharing a single account but are staying apart from each other will find it difficult to enjoy shows offered by the service soon enough. First discovered by The Streamable, the service has recently begun asking users to verify their identity if it detects that they are not in the same household as the main account holder.

The news outlet added that Netflix is rolling out this new restriction as a test at this current time and is mainly affecting users on TV devices. “This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorised to do so,” elaborated a company spokesperson to The Streamable. According to Netflix’s current terms of use, its service and content are for personal and non-commercial use, and may not be shared with individuals beyond a user’s household.

Affected individuals will be prompted with the message, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching”. Along with this message is a button that will direct the user to a registration page for a new Netflix account. Alternatively, the user can verify their identity during this prompt by submitting a verification code that is sent to the account’s corresponding email address or phone number. Neither Netflix nor The Streamable revealed what would happen if the user chooses to ignore the prompt or delay the verification request.

Prior to this, Netflix’s only measure of policing account sharing is by setting a limit to the number of devices per account that are allowed simultaneous access to its services. It is not known when the streaming service will fully implement this new restriction or if it plans to add other types of devices (i.e. PCs or smartphones) to the list.