Netflix have reportedly started to crack down on users who share passwords to avoid paying for their own account.

We've put together what you need to know about the crackdown on password sharing.

What packages does Netflix allow you to share accounts?

The Netflix model does allow for account sharing to a certain degree, as it allows users to create multiple profiles on one account depending on what plan the account is on:

  • The basic package for £5.99 per month that can only be viewed on one screen
  • The standard package for £8.99 per month that can be viewed on two screens at the same time
  • The premium package for £11.99 that can be viewed on up to four screens at the same time

However, these plans are designed for people living in a single household using the same login.

What do Netflix's terms and conditions say?

Netflix’s terms and conditions state: “The Netflix service and any content viewed through the service are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household.”

What have Netflix said:

During an interview last year, Greg Peters, Netflix’s chief product officer, was asked how the streaming service plans to address the issue without “alienating a certain portion of [the] userbase”.

Peters replied that they would “continue to monitor” the issue and would be looking at “consumer friendly ways to push on the edges” of the problem.

What those “consumer friendly ways” to crack down on password sharing might be has not been specified.

There are a few ways that Netflix could implement ways to limit password sharing, such as monitoring and limiting IP addresses.

'Reports of accounts getting shut down'

According to some reports, users are already feeling the effects of the streaming company’s efforts to minimise account sharing.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told The Sun: “They are policing this [already] by blocking the third concurrent screen if two screens are in use at the same time.”

Within the Netflix terms and conditions, it states that they reserve the right to “terminate or restrict” an account if they find you are violating the terms of use or are engaged in “illegal or fraudulent use of the service”.