Crackdown on Netflix password sharing means you have to check in at home once a month

New details are emerging on how Netflix plans to enforce its upcoming global crackdown on password sharing, which is currently only in effect in a few countries, including Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

A constant question through all of this is how Netflix is ​​going to prove who is sharing an account and who is just traveling or staying in a second home. The verification methodology seems to be… somewhat cumbersome.

On the FAQ pages for regions where the crackdown on password sharing is already underway, Netflix explains that you need to have a device “registered” at least once a month on the home network:

“To make sure your devices are paired to your primary location, connect to Wi-Fi at your primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days,” says the company on its support page. ”

So what that means in practice is that if you’re a college student using your parent’s Netflix plan, you’ll have to go home once a month, bring your laptop or tablet, “check in” to the Wifi and watch something on Netflix. If instead you’re using Netflix on a TV that you can’t take well with you, you’re out of luck, because that’s exactly what Netflix is ​​trying to kill.

Regarding travel, the FAQ states that a temporary code can be assigned for travel that will allow seven consecutive days of account access without being locked out. But obviously, we are in a situation that has many complications, such as longer trips, temporary moves, split households, etc. The system seems ripe for blocking accounts that perhaps shouldn’t be blocked, and Netflix says that if that happens, you’ll need to contact Netflix directly to unblock your device. I’m sure it’s an easy process…

Netflix claims that 100 million people share passwords on Netflix, and they want to convert at least some of those into active users with their own accounts or add-ons to existing ones. But with how clunky it looks, it feels like you’re just going to see a lot of rollbacks or changes to other services that do. not have these kinds of systems in place. And a lot of annoyed customers who are frustrated with Netflix if device X or Y is stuck in location X or Y and they have to call Netflix tech support to fix the problem. I wonder what they will lose compared to what they think they will gain.

But if it works? You can see all streaming services are starting to embrace this because while they may not say it publicly like Netflix, none of them basically want people to share the password. We’ll see what happens when this develops.

Update (2/2): Apparently due to the widespread backlash over the 31-day registration information, Netflix has now removed this section from its FAQ pages where it originally appeared.

This does not mean that the policy no longer exists. When pressed for comment, Netflix only told Streamable, the original story poster, “For a brief period yesterday, a Help Center article containing information that only applies to the Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, went live in other countries.” We have since updated it. and “We have no updates to share beyond the fact that we plan to roll it out more widely in Q1.”

Again, there’s no indication that Netflix isn’t going to actually widely implement the policies that have been listed, which include that 31-day check-in or the idea that you can get a 7-day ‘travel voucher’. days for Netflix if you’re on the road. The company has said over and over again that it will be do this crackdown, and even now they are still repeating it in these statements. The question is how.

News of the crackdown went viral yesterday, and people came up with all sorts of extremely valid reasons why, in practice, it would be a nightmare, whether it was snowbirds who live in different parts of the country or people who travel for long periods. The ultimate conclusion most came to was that it sounded like more trouble than it was worth, and they would probably cancel their subscription. Many of these people don’t even share passwords, just customers who believe their own personal Netflix experience will be affected by the crackdown.

I don’t think Netflix is ​​correctly predicting how the large-scale rollout will go, but I guess we’ll see if they make any changes before wider implementation.

Follow me on Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and instagram. Subscribe to my free weekly content newsletter, God rolls.

Pick up my sci-fi novels Herokiller Series and The Earthborn Trilogy.