No more using your friend’s passwords for Netflix. This streaming platform is testing out a new feature that helps stop account sharing. According to Netflix, they try “hundreds” of tests a year with select customers. Tests like this help Netflix improve its platform with new features, such as anti-sharing. 

The new anti-sharing test helps secure and authorize a person’s account, stop the spread of a password amongst others, including strangers, and prevent fraud. Netflix Chief Product Manager, Neil Hunt, himself has said that the streaming service is not “obsessed with enforcing compliance with a one household per account constraint.” According to Netflix, a new message will appear that states, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.”  Netflix has not announced what will take part after this message. 

During the past year, many streaming providers such as Netflix, Disney +, HBO Max, and Hulu have gained a lot of attention during this pandemic. Netflix arguably has benefited the most by adding 37 million new customers from this past year and topping its provider with 200+ million global subscribers. A new project under Magid, which is a research company, says about 1 out of 3 Netflix users, shares their account with at least one person. 

Netflix’s basic plan currently costs $8.99 per month. Additionally, the standard plan is $13.99 per month, which allows users to watch Netflix on two screens at a time. As Netflix hasn’t done much to stop this fraud of account-sharing in the past, this new feature might help Netflix gain its entire revenue and subscriptions.

By Jacob Kim