[ad_1]
Netflix is testing a new feature that could prevent non-subscribers from overlapping a friend or family member’s account and effectively prevent people from sharing passwords for the streaming service.
The new functionality is tested with a small, random sample of customers around the world. Selected users are prompted to confirm that they are – or live with – the account holder when entering their credentials to log into the video streaming platform. A code is sent to the subscriber, which the user is then asked to provide. Test subjects also have the option to bypass the prompt and verify the account later in order to continue streaming or create a new account.
“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are allowed to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.
Currently, Netflix offers three different subscriptions – first level subscribers are allowed to share their accounts with up to three additional household members.
A source familiar with the Netflix test said it was not a “crackdown” but that the company was looking for “consumer-friendly ways to manage password sharing and protect members in the process” .
The streaming platform also wants to protect its hundreds of millions of members from unauthorized use of their accounts. “The only way to stop this is to test our way through this type of verification,” the source said, adding that how Netflix might do it remains “in the air.”
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has previously discussed password sharing without indicating any course of action. “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with,” he said in 2016. “There is so much legitimate password sharing, as you share it with your spouse, with your children, so there is no clear line, and everything is fine as if. “
Netflix has over 200 million subscribers around the world and recently increased its prices as its popularity continued to grow during the coronavirus pandemic. Streaming plans cost between $ 9 and $ 18 per month.
[ad_2]
Source link