Streaming giant Netflix is to trial a crackdown on password sharing.
Netflix is trying to crack down on ineligible users, and if the trial is a success, it could be rolled out across the UK.
A number of users have started seeing a screen saying, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.”
In the trial, users can verify they are allowed to access the account by a code, sent via text or email.
A spokesperson told the BBC: “This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorised to do so.”
Most streaming platforms available allow users to create multiple profiles within the account, but the terms and conditions specify they are meant to be used by people in the household.
In October 2019, chief product officer Greg Peters said the company was looking at the issue of password sharing, but said it had no “big plans to announce at this time in terms of doing something differently there”.
Netflix gained almost 37 million new subscribers in 2020 and now has more than 200 million subscribers around the world.
It recently increased prices, with those looking to watch shows in Ultra HD having to now pay £13.99 a month – which is more than the licence fee.
