Netflix is testing a function of its platform asking users to verify they share a household with the account holder, the company said Thursday, signaling a potential crackdown on unverified account sharing.
A handful of users on the streaming platform have received one or more messages asking them to confirm they live with the account owner by entering details from a text message or email sent to the owner, a Netflix spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
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“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a company representative said.
When the message pops up on screens, users can delay the confirmation process and keep watching Netflix. The message might reappear and eventually could force those borrowing a Netflix account to open a new one to continue watching.
Netflix is always testing features on its platform across different parts of the world, and it is unclear if the household verification requirement will become a widely implemented function.
Users of an account must live in the same household, according to the company’s published terms of service. The policy is not new, though the company and other streaming services have not previously made attempts to crack down broadly on sharing accounts.
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Netflix provides users with options for a variety of monthly plans, allowing account holders to choose how many screens and devices users can stream to at a time.
For example, if an account only allows one user at a time to stream movies or television shows, the function the company is testing seeks to disallow more than one user from having access to the account password.
