Netflix details new account sharing rules and restrictions

It’s been announced for several months now that Netflix is ​​ending “wild” account sharing as it exists today. We knew this would be it payable from spring 2023without details… until today.

information ad hoc have been added to Site FAQs : device verification, IP address, out of home… Here are the new rules that will apply to Netflix account sharing.

“Netflix Home” defined by wifi

Let’s write it up front, account sharing is still allowed, but only for people living in the same household. If the notion of “Netflix family” is still unclear in Europe, especially used by sites such as Spliiit to provide their sharing services, the SVoD platform has clarified.

It defines how “Anyone who lives with you and therefore shares your main address”. To connect your various devices to this main address – and therefore be part of the “family” – Netflix shows subscribers the path to follow: “Connect to the wifi network associated with this address, open the app or website and watch a program at least every 31 days.”

A process that therefore seems painless for most users of the streaming service. That said, the platform specifies it “Devices that sign in to Netflix without connecting to your primary address may be blocked”.

So what happens when you go on a trip? What about people outside the home?

A temporary code

In case the device is no longer connected to the home network via wifi, Netflix will verify the device with a temporary verification code. The service will send a link to the corresponding email address or phone with a four-digit code. This must be entered within 15 minutes to be able to use the platform on the device for seven consecutive days.

Verification with IP addresses

Netflix also explained how it aims to detect devices within a household to identify any fraud: “We use information such as IP address, device ID, and account activity from devices connected to the Netflix account.”

However, the FAQ informs that in case of fraud, no financial penalty is currently foreseen. Netflix says so “It won’t automatically charge your CDM if you share your account with someone who doesn’t live under your roof”.

Paid sharing outside the home

Want to share your account with people outside your family and more than four people (and screens) at once? Netflix announced a few days ago that this will soon be possible for some currencies.

Thus, users will be able to pay an additional fee to share their account with a person who does not live under the same roof as them, in the logic of co-sharing or Spotify Family. Pricing has not yet been announced, but trials in Latin America suggest between €3 and €4 per person, added to the main bill.

100 million kidnappers?

Greg Peters, new co-manager of the platform, is not fooled by the expectation of this account sharing limitation: “It will not be a universal decision”he predicted.

These measures come after Netflix announced that “More than 100 million homes” practice abusive account sharing: a significant loss of revenue for the company, which has every intention of blowing the whistle on the end of the break. The streaming platform was recently released its figures for the fourth quarter of 2022 and now has a total of 230.75 million subscribers worldwide.