GoKawiilNetflix has been trying to clamp down on password sharing for years now, and it has just added an additional barrier in the form of a new requirement for each profile to have a unique email address.
In other streaming news, Amazon is being sued for forcing Prime Video members to watch ads without reducing the subscription fee to compensate them …
Netflix blocks on password sharing
A common way to save money on a Netflix subscription is for friends or family members living apart to share a single account, using the profile feature to keep their viewing history and preferences separate.
Netflix started attempts to block this behavior way back in 2022, when it insisted that all account users had to be based at a single address. Remote users could be added for a fee. The company later said it was using a combination of IP address, device IDs, and account activity to detect unauthorized password sharing.
That ‘feature’ came to the US three years ago, and the company is now adding an additional barrier in the form of new email address requirements.
New email requirements
CNET reports that Netflix is now requiring that a unique email address be added to each account profile.
Earlier this month, some Netflix users began receiving on-screen notices asking them to tie a unique email address to their profile. The notices frame the request as an opportunity to add new features to a profile, such as easier sign-in access and personalized suggestions. But as those who posted screenshots on Reddit pointed out, this change was aimed at accounts with multiple profiles in the same household.
The company confirmed that it started rolling out the new requirement a fortnight ago.
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