Do you share your Netflix account with one or more friends? Then you will soon have to look for an alternative because the streaming service, is now actively taking action against Netflix account sharing. The method of choice is a verification when the service is opened.
Netflix Asks Users To Verify
It’s no secret that Netflix is a proverbial thorn in the side of account sharing among friends and families. Therefore, the latest step in the streaming service is not particularly surprising.
More and more users are reporting in forums and on social networks such as Twitter that they are asked to verify their account when they open the Netflix app on their smartphone or television.
Netflix Account Sharing Is Prohibited
While sharing a Netflix password has become a matter of course in many countries and households, it is officially a violation of the Netflix Terms of Service. Like Spotify, for example, Netflix is keen that an account is only used within a household.
Conversely, this means that if children move to another city to study or if their parents live in two apartments or even towns due to their professional situation, several Netflix accounts are required. This makes the current request of the streaming service clear again.
Netflix Account Sharing Is A Dazzling Marketing Tool
The current approach by Netflix is understandable but a bit surprising. After all, Netflix boss Reed Hastings said in 2016 that Netflix account sharing is okay. It doesn’t matter whether two or ten people on the sofa watch a series on Netflix. “That’s positive, not negative,” Hastings continued because the experience of the streaming service showed five years ago that Netflix itself benefits from account sharing.
For example, if children use their parents’ accounts and have had a positive image of Netflix for years, the likelihood is very high that they will set up their accounts in adulthood after moving out.
Disney Plus Is Forcing Netflix To Change Its Strategy
But while Netflix had a de facto monopoly in 2016, the situation will be different in 2021. With more than 200 million paying subscribers, Netflix is still the largest streaming service globally. However, Disney Plus – apparently Netflix’s most significant competitor – managed to attract 100 million subscribers within a year.
With the new competition for Disney, HBO, Paramount, and Co. in the neck, Netflix seems to have decided to change its strategy. Instead of waiting for Netflix (Mtbe) users to decide independently for their subscription, the streaming service is now proactively pushing this process by banning Netflix account sharing. The next few months will show whether this will succeed.
It’s no secret that Netflix is a proverbial thorn in the side of account sharing among friends and families. Therefore, the latest step in the streaming service is not particularly surprising. While sharing a Netflix password has become a matter of course in many countries and households, it is officially a violation of the Netflix Terms of Service. Like Spotify, for example, Netflix is keen that an account is only used within a household.
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