Netflix Launches New Feature to Crack Down on Password Sharing

By Rebecca Theodore-Vachon 

Netflix has started its move to curb unauthorized password-sharing by giving subscribers a way to lock down accounts.

The streaming platform launched a new feature, Managing Access and Devices, that allows members to view all the recent devices that have streamed from a customer’s account and to log out of specific devices with one click.

“With the busy holiday season just around the corner, many of our members will be on the move and watching Netflix wherever they are traveling to see family and friends. Logging in to your account while at a hotel or even your friend’s house is easy and intuitive, but lots of people then forget to log out,” wrote Charles Wartemberg, Netflix product manager in a blog post explaining the new tool.

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Wartemberg goes on to explain that the much-requested feature to help members manage their account security is now available to all members around the world on the web, iOS and Android.

This past October, Netflix detailed plans to crack down on password sharing in the next year. “Paid sharing” will enable users to move their Netflix profile on a shared account into their own account, starting in early 2023. An “extra member” sub-account profile will soon be available for users who share accounts, enabling account owners to pay for family and friends.

Netflix lost nearly 1.2 million subscribers in the first half of 2022, with the company placing part of the blame on subscribers who share accounts with friends and family, but did add 2.4 million in the third quarter. The streamer estimates that about 100 million households participate in account sharing.

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