Still “borrowing” your parents passwords?

The folks at Netflix are starting to make a bigger effort at stopping people from sharing password accounts across devices.

Lately, Netflix users who use an account of a person not living with the owner of the account a little more than often are starting to get messages asking to sign up for a “free trial” of the service if you can’t verify a code.

If the account can’t be verified, the user will have to sign up for a 30-day free trial.

From CNN.com:

“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. The company’s terms of service say accounts “may not be shared with individuals beyond your household.”

When a user selects their profile on a shared Netflix account, a pop-up will ask them to verify the account by confirming with a text or email sent to the account holder. Users can also choose to verify later, in which case, the pop-up will show up again at an undetermined later time. If they can’t confirm they’re an authorized user, viewers will be prompted to set up a new account.

Right now the test is only showing up on TV devices connected to the same account. If you watch on a phone or laptop you’re good for now.

Because of the pandemic, NETLIX had a very good year, hitting the 200 million subscribers mark and seeing a 50% increase in their stock price. As the world opens back up and people aren’t stuck at home, will those numbers stay as high?

Susan Saunders 3/12/21