Streaming giant Netflix is considering a crackdown on password sharing, in what is likely to be unsettling news to the platform’s legion of freeloaders who enjoy the service through the goodwill of family and friends.Ī trial appeared on multiple user accounts which said: “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” It's not a sustainable model for online security, and the reality is that you could be putting a lot more at risk than your binge sessions by providing others with your passwords.The streaming giant is rolling out alerts asking users to verify they are authorised to watch on the account to be able to keep viewing. Subsequently, when it comes to password sharing on Netflix, there's a good chance that users aren't taking the proper steps to ensure that their account - and the likely other accounts that use that same password - is secure.Īll this to say that Netflix is probably right about password sharing, even if they are just doing it for the money. 85% of users state they use the same password for multiple accounts and the most common password in 2021 was “123456.” Some users don't even see the point of password managers, despite password managers representing one of the best ways to keep yourself safe online. Unfortunately, the average user does not take password security seriously. Considering security breaches, ransomware attacks, and phishing scams are around virtually every corner of the web, making sure your passwords are as secure as possible could be the difference between protecting your accounts and outright identity theft. Passwords remain one of the primary - albeit somewhat outdated - means of protecting yourself online. Netflix isn't looking out for your online safety, it's looking out for its own bottom line, which is likely what has people up in arms. “We’re not trying to shut down that sharing, but we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her and so that she gets the benefit and the value of the service, but we also get the revenue associated with that viewing.”Īnd that's the crux of the issue. “If you’ve got a sister, let’s say, that’s living in a different city, you want to share Netflix with her, that’s great,” said Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer of Netflix, during the company’s earnings conference call. Because this isn't about password security, it's about revenue.

The company plans to still allow password sharing but will likely charge an extra fee for the pleasure of keeping the account in the family.

This would be the first effort to crack down on password sharing by any streaming service, as the likes of HBO Max, Disney+, and others haven't touched the notion yet.

Netflix logins and passwords 2021