Netflix Password Sharing Crackdown Means You Must ‘Check In’ At Home Once A Month

New details have emerged on how Netflix will enforce its upcoming global crackdown on password sharing. It is currently practiced in several countries including Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

Through all of this, there’s always been the question of how Netflix proves who’s sharing an account and who’s traveling or staying in another household.

Above FAQ page In regions where password-sharing crackdowns are already in place, Netflix says you should “check-in” your device on your home network at least once a month.

“To make sure your device is associated with a primary location, connect to Wi-Fi in a primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days. ‘, the company said on its support page. ”

So what this really means is that if you’re a college student and you’re on your parents’ Netflix plan, once a month you come home, bring your laptop or tablet, and “check in” on your Wifi. , to see something. on netflix. If instead you’re using Netflix on a TV that doesn’t hold up well, that’s exactly what Netflix is ​​trying to kill, so you’re out of luck.

As for travel, the FAQ states that you can distribute a temporary code for travel that allows account access for 7 consecutive days without being blocked. But clearly we are in a situation with many complications: longer trips, temporary transfers, splitting up households. The system seems ripe for blocking accounts that it probably shouldn’t, and Netflix advises contacting Netflix directly to unblock your device if this happens. The process is really easy…

Netflix claims 100 million people have shared passwords on Netflix and hopes to convert at least some of them into active users with add-ons to their accounts or existing accounts. But how clunky this sounds, it feels like there will be a ton of cancellations and switches to other services. no We have such a system in place. Also, many frustrated Netflix customers are frustrated when X or Y devices are blocked in X or Y locations and they have to call Netflix tech support to fix the problem. What will they lose compared to what they are trying to gain?

But what if this works?you might see all Streaming services are starting to adopt this, maybe not as publicly as Netflix, but basically they don’t want people sharing their passwords. Let’s.

Update (2/2): Apparently due to widespread backlash over the 31-day check-in news, Netflix has now removed that section from its original FAQ page.

This does not mean that the policy no longer exists.Netflix only responded when asked for comment Streamable, the original poster for the story, “Shortly yesterday, a Help Center article was published in other countries containing information that only applies to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.” ‘ and ‘I have no updates to share beyond the fact that we plan to roll this out more broadly in Q1.’

Again, there is nothing to indicate that Netflix does not plan to actually broadly enforce the listed policies. This includes this 31-day check-in for him, and the idea of ​​getting his 7-day “travel voucher” for Netflix. on the road.The company has repeated over and over again intention Do this crackdown, and even now they’re repeating it in these statements.

News of the crackdown spread rapidly yesterday, and people, whether it’s snow birds living in different parts of the country or people traveling for longer periods of time, have been harassed by all sorts of extreme threats that would actually be a nightmare. The final conclusion drawn the most was that this sounded like more trouble than it was worth and would probably cancel the subscription. Many of them aren’t even password sharers, they’re just customers who believe enforcement will hurt their personal Netflix experience.

I don’t think Netflix has correctly predicted how this will roll out at scale, but I think they’ll see if they make any changes before broader implementation.

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