Netflix reveals how crackdown on password and account…

Netflix reveals how crackdown on password and account sharing will work - millions affected

Netflix has outlined details on how it plans on preventing people from different households using the same account - in what appears to be a major shake-up for the widely-used product.

The leading streaming service initially announced plans on preventing password sharing last month, now revealing exactly how it plans to implement changes which will affect millions of UK residents.

On its official website, Netflix has made it crystal clear that an account should solely be used by people who share the same household - with those freeloading from other addresses needing to purchase their own subscription soon.

The MEN reports that it adds when a device outside of your household signs in to your account or it is used persistently, it may ask you to verify the device before it can be used. To detect devices using Netflix within a household, it uses information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into the account.

Watching Netflix when outside of the house – such as streaming on a mobile device when travelling – will still be allowed, but Netflix will require you to verify that device. To do this, Netflix says it will send a link to the email address or phone number associated with the primary account holder.

This will contain a four-digit code that will need to be entered on the device within 15 minutes, after which the device will be verified for Netflix use. It adds that this verification 'may be required periodically'.

This means that sharing an account between family members that no longer live together will no longer be permitted and could end up costing you. Netflix still allows several devices in the same household to share an account, as well as letting users attach several different user profiles to that account.

The number of devices able to be linked to one account depends on your subscription package. The company limits the number of devices using one account simultaneously to two on its Standard account and four on its Premium account, costing £10.99 and £15.99 per month respectively.

Those using an account from outside the household will now have to pay for their own account. There will be an option which lets users add subaccounts for those outside the household to continue sharing an account.

Netflix has been trialling this feature in parts of South America since last year at a cost of around an extra £2-3 per month.

It comes as the company has suffered with dwindling subscriber numbers amid competition from rival platforms including Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney+ and looks for ways to increase its revenue. In December, the government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) deemed password sharing a criminal and civil offence as it is a breach of copyright law, and those doing it could theoretically face prosecution.