What the tech? Netflix changes password sharing protocol

(ABC 6 News) – A few years after telling subscribers it had no problem with them sharing passwords, Netflix will soon attempt to ban someone from watching their favorite movie or TV show on the platform unless they live in the same household as the person paying the bill.

Netflix has always given a pass to families sharing accounts with kids who’ve left the nest or gone to college. Not anymore. Now, they’ll need their own account and password. Here’s what you need to know about how your Netflix account will be affected by the new rules posted on Netflix’s help center. The primary subscriber will need to connect to Netflix on their home WiFi network to created trusted devices to watch on any TV, smartphone, computer, or tablet. This will prevent someone from using the account and password who is not watching on that WiFi network.

Netflix says it’ll detect where people stream through the IP address and account activity. Meaning, if someone is watching Netflix who doesn’t live at the address, they’ll be blocked from using the password. While subscribers can watch Netflix while traveling, it says subscribers will need to log on to Netflix on the home WiFi network at least once every month.

Netflix rolled out a program late last year in a few countries where it charged subscribers a monthly fee to share the password with someone who doesn’t live in the house. So far, Netflix hasn’t launched that policy in the U.S. But that could be coming.

What’s stopping someone, like a college student, from coming home once a month and logging on to Netflix on their device in order to watch from where they live? That’s unclear but it is against Netflix’s terms of service. Netflix told its shareholders the new policy will launch sometime in the next two months.