• On January 31, 2023, Netflix unveiled new rules for account sharing, which will come into effect at the end of the first quarter of 2023.

  • Sharing a Netflix account will only be permitted for residents of one and the same household.

    In this case, you will have to pay for an additional option.

  • The streaming platform hopes to generate additional revenue.

“Can someone lend me their Netflix codes?

".

We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves, but this is probably one of the most asked questions in recent years about WhatsApp groups between family or friends.

But this phrase should soon be just a bad memory.

Theoretically prohibited, account sharing has so far been widely tolerated by Netflix.

It is now a thing of the past.

The streaming platform unveiled, this Tuesday, January 31 on its site, a new account system, which should come into force at the end of the first quarter of 2023. And the rule could not be clearer: a Netflix account is intended “for people who live together in the same household”.

In other words, you will no longer be able to share your account for free with someone who does not live under the same roof as you.

Those who live in another accommodation "will have to use their own account" to access the content, warns the platform.

"trusted" device

But how will the streaming platform detect devices in the same household?

Thanks to the IP address - the technical identifier linked to your home's Wi-Fi box -, the device identifier and account activity, the company will be able to know if the connection is indeed coming from someone from the same household.

And beware of those who do not play the game, warns the firm: "Devices that identify themselves on Netflix without being associated with your main address can be blocked", can we read on the Help Center of the platform.

But the company goes even further.

In order to continue using their account, users will need to connect at least once every 31 days to home Wi-Fi from their TV app or smartphone and watch at least one piece of content.

It is this monthly connection that will allow Netflix to register the so-called “trusted” devices of a household.

If no connection is registered beyond this period, the device will be removed from the list and the reading of content will be blocked.

A paid option

And this notion is important.

Because if your computer or smartphone is considered a "trusted" device, you can use it anywhere, when traveling, in transport or abroad.

If this is not the case, you will then have to ask Netflix for a temporary access code to be able to continue watching films and series, valid for seven days.

In other words, an email will be sent to the account holder, who will have fifteen minutes to enter a four-digit code by clicking on a link.

Basically, it can quickly become problematic if the person you share your account with is not responsive.

Especially since “verification of the device may be required periodically”, specifies Netflix.

For those who absolutely want to share their account with their best friend or cousin, rest assured, it will always be possible… But it will no longer be free.

A paid option should be launched from the spring so that you can continue to share your account with relatives who do not live in the same household.

The system has already been tested in Latin America.

According to the first results, for each person living outside the household, the Netflix account holder increased his bill by an average of three euros.

Measurement does not come out of nowhere.

Of Netflix's 223 million paying subscribers in 2022, nearly 100 million households enjoyed the streaming service for free through account sharing, a huge shortfall for the company.

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