Implications of Netflix sharing crackdown

[Philliefan33]

We have the Netflix account and our two adult daughters use it. I use my DD’s HBOMax account.

In our case, Netflix will lose if they somehow prevent the DD’s from using my account. The only reason I keep it active is because we all use it. Otherwise I would just turn it on for a couple of months to binge a couple of shows, then cancel. One DD would do the same, the other wouldn’t bother having it at all. So now they get $16/month x 12; if they crack down they will get $16 x 2 from me and $16 x 2 from one DD.

 

[Sunset]

That still allows account sharing of course. My friend logs in with my account and I text him the code.

True, but it would get old pretty quickly and your friend might not want to bug you while you are driving, dinner, working, etc. Some percentage of people would either give up or get their own account.

I had a device to watch my 99 cent Hulu for a year, and every-time I turned Hulu on, it wanted a code entered on the TV, so I'd have to log in with the computer to get my code and then enter it on the TV.
We found we barely watched the Hulu due to that.
I got a fire tv stick, and it logs into Hulu without issue, now we watch the Hulu a LOT.

 

[Sojourner]

It seems to me that the key to all this will have to be concurrent use of a Netflix account by devices in different locations. This would substantially address the sharing problem, since most people tend to watch TV in the evenings. I don't see how Netflix could possibly say to a customer paying $16/month (the highest of any streaming service I'm aware of) that they can only watch from devices located in one single primary residence. IMHO, that would be very customer unfriendly and put NF at a huge competitive disadvantage. I know I would cancel NF if I could no longer watch it at my family's lake house or when I'm staying at Airbnb-type places. I just don't see NF going to these lengths and willing to risk mass subscriber "rage canceling".

 

[livingalmostlarge]

My BIL gives us Disney+ and netflix because we wouldn't pay for netflix otherwise. He likes the HD so he gets the highest plan. And Disney+ because he likes sports ESPN. Otherwise we don't bother.

I just bought HBOmax for a year, but seriously we don't watch enough that we will be paying. If my BIL pays then great for netflix. But we aren't turning it on. Maybe if we really want to. But we get enough from the other stuff, we get Hulu from our spotify, amazon prime well for prime, amex platinum is paramount+?

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

Young people today are pretty mobile- as in they have all of their stuff on a phone. It’s what they are used to. I would also bet that if Netflix or any other streaming services makes connecting too difficult that young people will just move on to something else.
Most people I know under 40ish don’t do cable at all. They stream what they want because they like the flexibility. Take that away…

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

My daughter was also one of the first who joined the DVD program way back then and has been a loyal customer that pays for the Premium Service so she can let me and her closest friend use it. I think they watch it a lot but I hardly ever watch it. I think at $20 a month Netflix had better not give them a hassle when I start to babysit my new grand daughter and use it more often. DD not actually watching it that much these days so she probably would cancel it if they hassle her.

 

[aaronc879]

Young people today are pretty mobile- as in they have all of their stuff on a phone. It’s what they are used to. I would also bet that if Netflix or any other streaming services makes connecting too difficult that young people will just move on to something else.
Most people I know under 40ish don’t do cable at all. They stream what they want because they like the flexibility. Take that away…

I guess I don't qualify as "young people" anymore at 43. I don't use my phone for any kind of streaming, that is what a laptop is for. I don't do any social media on my phone either. I like to think of myself as young but I guess that ship has sailed.

 

[Sue J]

Is anyone familiar with whether other paid streaming services are having these problems with unauthorized password sharing?

When we started our T-Mobile cell phone account (55+ Magenta) last year it included 12 months of AppleTV+ for free. You can include up to 6 users if they are in your Apple Family Sharing. This is not restricted to people in your household. I think it's anybody with an Apple ID. Along with DH and I, I added one of our sons (the other son was not interested) and my sister. I can still add 2 more people.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I guess I don't qualify as "young people" anymore at 43. I don't use my phone for any kind of streaming, that is what a laptop is for. I don't do any social media on my phone either. I like to think of myself as young but I guess that ship has sailed.

I said 40ish! I know a few who are 41-42 that don’t use cable. Obviously I was being very general. [emoji38]
43 is still young.
Wait until you are 60 and they start calling you elderly. That was a rude awakening.

 

[ncbill]

Interesting interpretation you have since no where in the Netflix definition you quoted does it say anything about physical location. I believe this is part of Netflix's problem, how to limit it without limiting multiple locations.

Yep, that's why I think it has little chance of actually being implemented.

At least without screwups significant enough to result in a class-action.

 

[youbet]

That still allows account sharing of course. My friend logs in with my account and I text him the code.

Of course. A thief will always find a way………. They’re just trying to make unauthorized password sharing as inconvenient as possible.

 

[disneysteve]

I guess I don't qualify as "young people" anymore at 43. I don't use my phone for any kind of streaming, that is what a laptop is for. I don't do any social media on my phone either. I like to think of myself as young but I guess that ship has sailed.

I’m 58. I stream on my phone all the time. Watched Netflix earlier today. And social media on my phone all the time. Facebook, Twitter, etc.

 

[athena53]

I got the "gentle approach" e-mail as well. DS and DDIL live 3 hours away and share the password for the account in my name- max 2 devices but I live alone and they stream only on their one TV. I have the high-def but if they start charging extra to have DS and DDIL use it I'll cut it back to regular definition (saving $5) to spite them. I will NOT downgrade to a version with commercials.

My guess is that they monitor use for other IP addresses and ignore the occasional log-in from a hotel or an Airbnb (I ALWAYS log out before leaving) but will track down something consistent like DS and DDIL using it from the same house 180 miles away on a regular basis. I've never been asked for verification but occasionally get an e-mail that my Netflix account was signed in from some other location.

 

[troutnut1]

I share our Netflix account with my 89 year old mother who is in assisted living. I did this primarily so help her get it set up and to see if I could even teach her how to use it. It took a long time but she is clearly using it now.

As long as this is not considered cheating I would like to leave it as is. But if that changes, or has changed, both her and I can well afford separate accounts. But I seriously doubt that mom will be able to jump through all the necessary hoops to have her own account. She has an old flip phone and can barely manage that.

I maintain the highest cost Netflix account and would gladly pay more, but I have to be able to manage it for her remotely. I hope they make that possible.

 

[KarenF]

Our kid put their Netflix account on our TV to use when they visit us, mostly during the holiday visits. We don't use the account when they're away. How will this impact their use on our TV during visits? This is probably similar to the vacation question mentioned earlier.

Our son did this too and we do use the account when he is not here He does live close to us and he and his family are over a lot though.

 

[samcat]

I think they are out to get families like ours. We watch it at our house and our son watches it at his house. He is 27 and should have his own account.

 

[disneysteve]

I think they are out to get families like ours. We watch it at our house and our son watches it at his house. He is 27 and should have his own account.

Exactly. A lot of people do this.


We have friends who have 3 adult children, all off on their own. Between them all, they subscribe to numerous services and share accounts between them. So my friends might pay for Netflix and Paramount+ while daughter #1 pays for Hulu and Disney+, daughter #2 pays for Amazon Prime and YouTube TV, etc. That way each of them has a fairly small monthly bill but gets to use all of the services. That's the stuff the companies want to crack down on.

 

[68bucks]

I'm not really a streamer but have looked at it. We have Disney+ and used my sons account when the kids were here. It doesn't get used a lot. I tried to use it the other day and the app needed updates and of course you have to log in after that. It sends code via email. It's my DIL's email and I wasn't going to bug her to get it so I watched something else. I won't subscribe but it would be a hassle to have to do that often.

 

[JJpop]

Exactly. A lot of people do this.


We have friends who have 3 adult children, all off on their own. Between them all, they subscribe to numerous services and share accounts between them. So my friends might pay for Netflix and Paramount+ while daughter #1 pays for Hulu and Disney+, daughter #2 pays for Amazon Prime and YouTube TV, etc. That way each of them has a fairly small monthly bill but gets to use all of the services. That's the stuff the companies want to crack down on.

They have every right to crack down.

Compare the price of Netflix to going out to one movie as a couple.

Is Netflix being unreasonable to expect people to have their own account where they live? Absolutely not.


I just do not get the outrage I see from so many people over this and every time they raise their price.

Netflix,Apple, Hulu, etc are an incredible entertainment bargain when you compare it to anything else.

 

[athena53]

Is Netflix being unreasonable to expect people to have their own account where they live? Absolutely not.

I won't argue with you about Netflix being a good value- that's why I subscribe and Google Fiber + Netflix is a darn better deal than the horribly expensive cable bundle I used to have.

But... they changed the rules- essentially a decrease in service- without reducing the prices. When I signed on years ago, the deal was tow devices at a time with no requirement that they be in the same household. Now they're taking that away.

 

[youbet]

I share our Netflix account with my 89 year old mother who is in assisted living. I did this primarily so help her get it set up and to see if I could even teach her how to use it. It took a long time but she is clearly using it now.

As long as this is not considered cheating I would like to leave it as is. But if that changes, or has changed, both her and I can well afford separate accounts. But I seriously doubt that mom will be able to jump through all the necessary hoops to have her own account. She has an old flip phone and can barely manage that.

I maintain the highest cost Netflix account and would gladly pay more, but I have to be able to manage it for her remotely. I hope they make that possible.

I'm betting you'll be able to manage you mom's account.

 

[youbet]

I'm not really a streamer but have looked at it. We have Disney+ and used my sons account when the kids were here. It doesn't get used a lot. I tried to use it the other day and the app needed updates and of course you have to log in after that. It sends code via email. It's my DIL's email and I wasn't going to bug her to get it so I watched something else. I won't subscribe but it would be a hassle to have to do that often.

That's the result they're looking for. Making it too much trouble for folks to steal the service.

 

[Trailwalker]

I won't argue with you about Netflix being a good value- that's why I subscribe and Google Fiber + Netflix is a darn better deal than the horribly expensive cable bundle I used to have.

But... they changed the rules- essentially a decrease in service- without reducing the prices. When I signed on years ago, the deal was tow devices at a time with no requirement that they be in the same household. Now they're taking that away.

At one time, I loved Netflix. Way before streaming, we would order the discs in the mail. They lost me several price increases ago, and I won't ever go back. There is so much content available elsewhere now for less or free.

 

[youbet]

I won't argue with you about Netflix being a good value- that's why I subscribe and Google Fiber + Netflix is a darn better deal than the horribly expensive cable bundle I used to have.

But... they changed the rules- essentially a decrease in service- without reducing the prices. When I signed on years ago, the deal was tow devices at a time with no requirement that they be in the same household. Now they're taking that away.

I hear ya, but I don't think Netflix ever intended the "two devices at a time" rate to mean "two separate/independent households." Of course, if they weren't specific enough in their wording of the offer, I guess that's on them.

You have absolutely no obligation to stay with them and doing so will only be because you choose to do so. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.

Right now I have OTA and stream PBS, Amazon Prime and free services.

 

[NomDeER]

I think they are out to get families like ours. We watch it at our house and our son watches it at his house. He is 27 and should have his own account.

Yes. This is the type of thing they are trying to stop. IMO, it should be like cable tv. If you pay for cable, your adult kid doesn't get to use it at their house and your friends don't get to use it at their houses.

Of course, as someone who is paying for a subscription and not sharing it with anyone, I am just fine with the limits. I feel like my subscription payments subsidize the people who are sharing their subscription with people outside their home. (I am under the impression that they are not really changing the rules, but just starting to enforce them - gently.)

IMO, Netflix is a bargain. A movie in a theater costs more than a Netflix monthly fee. If someone wants a subscription for just a few months, they can do that. I had Disney for a few months and then canceled it because I wasn't watching it after the first month. I can imagine that, at some point, I might get it again for a month or two.