Netflix Passcode Security means you have to “check in” at home once a month

New details are emerging about how Netflix plans to implement an upcoming global crackdown on password-sharing, which currently only exists in a handful of countries, including Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

The lingering question in all of this is how Netflix will prove who’s sharing an account and who’s just traveling or staying in a second home. The verification methodology seems a bit difficult.

In its FAQ pages for regions where password sharing is already live, Netflix explains that you must “register” the device on your home network at least once a month:

“To ensure your devices are connected to your primary location, connect to Wi-Fi at your primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days,” the company notes on its support page. ”

So what this means in practice is that if you’re, say, a college student on your parents’ Netflix plan, you’ll travel home once a month, bring your laptop or tablet, “check in” to Wi-Fi, and watch something. On Netflix. If you instead use Netflix on a TV that you can’t take well with you, you’re out of luck, because that’s exactly what Netflix is ​​trying to kill.

As for travel, the FAQ says that a temporary code can be issued for travel, which will allow you to log in for seven consecutive days without being blocked. But obviously, we have to deal with long trips, temporary relocations, household separations, etc. We are in a situation with many complications. The system seems ripe for having accounts that maybe shouldn’t be blocked, and Netflix says you’ll need it if that happens. Contact Netflix directly to have your device unblocked. I’m sure it’s an easy process…

Netflix claims that 100 million people share passwords on Netflix, and they want to convert at least some of them into active users with their own accounts or additions to existing ones. But as hard as it sounds, it’s likely that you’ll just see a lot of cancellations or switches to other services. no there are such systems. Many frustrated customers with Netflix when X or Y device is blocked in X or Y location and they have to call Netflix technical support to resolve it. I wonder what they will lose compared to what they think they will gain.

But if it works? You can see all streaming services are starting to pick up on this, because while they may not say it as openly as Netflix, none of them fundamentally want people to share passwords. We’ll see what happens when this expands.

Update (2/2): Apparently due to widespread backlash over the 31-day sign-up news, Netflix has now removed that section from the FAQ pages where it originally appeared.

This does not mean that politics no longer exists. When asked for comment, Netflix exclusively told Streamable, the story’s original poster: “Yesterday, a help center article containing information only relevant to Chile, Costa Rica and Peru was briefly published in other countries.” We have since updated it.” and “We have no updates to share other than we expect to roll this out more broadly in the first quarter.”

Still, there’s nothing to suggest that Netflix won’t actually widely implement the listed policies, including this 31-day signup or the idea that you can get a 7-day “travel voucher” for Netflix. on the way. The company has repeated this many times will be put that pressure on and now they repeat it again and again in these statements. The only question is how.

News of the crackdown broke yesterday and people, whether snowbirds living in different parts of the country or people traveling for longer periods, came up with all sorts of extremely valid reasons why it would be a nightmare in practice. The bottom line was that it sounds like more trouble than it’s worth and they’ll probably cancel their subscription. Many of these people aren’t even password sharers, but simply customers who feel their private Netflix experience will suffer from a crackdown.

I don’t think Netflix correctly predicted this would be widespread, but we’ll see if they make any changes before a wider rollout.

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