Netflix is currently the most popular movie and TV show streaming service in the world. However, the price of over 200,000 VND/month for the HD package of Netflix is relatively high compared to the average income of most users.
However, Netflix’s policy allows users within the same household to share accounts (up to 2 screens with the standard package and 4 screens with the premium package). Many people have exploited this policy to share accounts with each other, but with a group of friends (not living together) or even with strangers, thus reducing the cost per person. Some services selling cheap Netflix accounts in Vietnam are also operating under this model.
However, Netflix is taking its first steps to block users from sharing accounts. According to reports from some users, when logging into Netflix, they unexpectedly received a notification about not living with the account owner and needing to go through a verification step to continue using the service.
“If you do not live with the owner of this account, you will need a separate account to continue watching,” the notification from Netflix states. To proceed, users will have to enter a verification code sent to the email address or phone number of the account owner.
It is known that this verification process is being tested on TVs, while devices such as computers, phones, or tablets have not been affected yet.
Speaking to The Streamable, a Netflix representative said “This testing process is designed to ensure that users use their Netflix accounts legitimately.” However, Netflix did not share details on how the service determines whether an account is being shared among multiple users.
In fact, Netflix is fully aware of the account sharing situation; however, for many years, no measures have been taken. In an interview that took place in October 2019, Greg Peters – Netflix’s Chief Product Officer stated that the service “does monitor users sharing passwords with each other, but there are no major plans to intervene in that.”