New York (CNN Business) – If you are using the Netflix password of your sister’s friend’s parent, listen. The streaming giant is testing a new feature that could help it eliminate password sharing. Netflix raises alerts asking users to verify that they are authorized to use this account before they can continue watching the content.
“This test is designed to help ensure that people who use Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. The company’s terms of service state that “accounts cannot be shared with people outside your home.”
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Here’s how Netflix tries to prevent password sharing:
When a user selects their profile on a shared Netflix account, a popup will ask them to verify the account by confirming with a text or email sent to the account holder.
Users can also choose to check later, in which case the popup will appear again at an unspecified time later. If they cannot confirm that they are an authorized user, viewers will be asked to create a new account.
Before you panic, the new feature is just a test and is being rolled out to a limited number of users who are using the Netflix TV app.
The update comes as Netflix’s audience explodes during the pandemic. It reached 200 million users last month, and its stock has increased nearly 50% since last March. But the company may face challenges maintaining this momentum, as people spend less time confined to their homes in 2021.
For years, Netflix and other streaming platforms have been grappling with how to deal with password sharing, and whether they should bother trying to avoid it at all. In a 2019 earnings call, Netflix’s chief product officer said the company is focusing on preventing passwords from being shared, but is still looking for ways to enforce them.
