Netflix’s password-sharing saga continues

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Netflix has been warning customers that it will crack down on password sharing for months, but its most recent implementation has been a bit…odd.

A couple of changes to one of the company’s support pages earlier this week have left many confused about Netflix’s plans.

This particular saga started yesterday with an update to Netflix’s account-sharing support page (seen here via The Wayback Machine).

The new page detailed how Netflix would require accounts to have a “primary location” and that Netflix might block users outside of your house from watching Netflix on your account.

Additionally, the page said you’d be required to sign in and watch something at least once every 31 days on devices outside your primary location. If not, Netflix would block those devices.

Finally, it shared a process for watching Netflix while traveling. The page said that Netflix would generate a temporary code when you traveled.

Entering that code would let you access your account for up to seven days from a device outside your primary location.

Cut to today, when the company has completely reverted the support page. It now reads the same as before the Tuesday change.

Essentially, sharing passwords is “wrong,” but Netflix won’t do anything about it.

Netflix’s new password-sharing rules still exist in some countries

There is a relatively sound explanation for the confusion this week. The update to the Netflix Help Center support page on password sharing is still live in a few countries.

Specifically, the support pages for Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru are all still updated with the new rules. Chances are, someone accidentally published these changes to other countries before they were supposed to come.

These are the countries where Netflix began charging extra for users outside of their primary addresses in March 2022.

So it looks like Netflix is currently testing out changes to help stop account holders from password sharing. We knew this time would come.

And it probably won’t be long before these changes make their way to everyone. In its recent earnings report, Netflix said it would “start rolling out paid sharing more broadly” in the first quarter of the year.

It looks like the golden age of sharing passwords is almost over. The company’s finally cashing in after luring us over the last decade.

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