The writing has been on the wall for a while now, but now, d-day has officially arrived… almost. Let me explain. Over the last few years, this constant murmur has surrounded everyone’s favourite show-killing platform, Netflix, and password sharing.
We’ve heard everything from adverts being introduced to paying per viewer to your account being locked to an IP address. Likewise, we’ve also heard that these were just nasty rumours and would never happen, but inside, we all knew it was just a matter of time. A sad countdown, if you will, and now that clock is about to chime.
Netflix recently updated its Help Center document and, by doing so, revealed its plan to prevent password sharing, let’s break it down:
To ensure uninterrupted access to Netflix, subscribers must connect to their primary location’s Wi-Fi. Then they will need to open up Netflix and watch at least one thing on that device every 31 days. Doing this will log that particular device as a trusted device and allow you to access Netflix even when you’re away from your primary Wi-Fi.
Suppose you’re planning to be away from your primary Wi-Fi for more than 31 days. In that case, subscribers can request a temporary access code, allowing for an additional seven days of uninterrupted viewing.
However, before you get too excited or upset, remember this isn’t set in stone. Not only was there no time frame given to the rollout of this new system, but Netflix also has yet to speak about which countries it would target or if it would just be a blanket change.
It’s also worth noting that since yesterday evening, the updated help document is no longer available online, so there is an excellent chance that some, if not all, of these details are still open to change. After some severe backlash, Netflix addressed the document’s existence this morning by clarifying that this information was only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru and was published to other countries in error.
However, it seems unlikely that Netflix isn’t planning on rolling this out to a larger audience shortly and probably only backtracked on the primary rollout due to all the backlash received.
One silver lining in all this mess is that subscribers can rest easy that even if these changes are implemented in the future, Netflix already offers a comprehensive profile transfer feature that allows viewers to migrate their show recommendations, watch history, and more to their own account if they decide to create one.