by NY – Netflix began to detail new measures with which it will seek to end the practice of sharing accounts between several households, a plan that it has been preparing for months to increase its number of subscribers.
The streaming platform has already been testing some of these novelties in several Latin American countries, which it now plans to extend to the rest of the world, initially starting in March.
It is in an update of its website in those countries -Costa Rica, Chile and Peru- where the American company reveals how it will ensure that passwords are not shared between several homes.
Netflix will force users to set a “primary location” and force any device that wants to use the account to connect to that same Wi-Fi network at least once every 31 days.
“People outside of your household will need to use their own account to watch Netflix. Netflix may not be able to be viewed on devices that are not part of your primary location.
For those who want to share their account with someone who lives outside their home, Netflix has tested in recent months in these three countries the option of adding extra members in exchange for an additional payment, an amount in any case lower than that of their basic plan. .
Netflix warns that a device may be locked when someone logs into it outside of the primary location or if the account is accessed repeatedly from another location and offers the possibility of requesting a temporary code to access the service for 7 days, for example if you are traveling.
“The widespread use of shared accounts (more than 100 million households) undermines our ability to invest in the long term and improve Netflix, as well as to build our business,” the company explained last month in a letter to its shareholders.
The platform’s terms of use previously stated that Netflix accounts are intended for people who live in the same householdbut for years the company has been permissive with the practice of sharing passwords.
To curb it, the company has also begun to force check devices from which you log in and uses information such as IP addresses, device identifiers and account activity to detect which devices are not part of a household.
On the other hand, Netflix announced today in a statement improvements in its Premium plan, which include access to “spatial audio” to enjoy surround sound on all devices and without the need for special devices.
In addition, it will allow content to be downloaded to be viewed without an internet connection on a greater number of devices, going from a maximum of four to six for Premium subscribers.
