The popular content streaming and production platform Netflix, based out of America, is testing a feature that asks viewers to verify they share a household with the account holder, the company said.
The latest move marks an effort by Netflix to limit the sharing of passwords. A small number of Netflix users are receiving a message asking them to confirm they live with the account owner by entering details from a text message or email sent to the owner.
Viewers can delay the verification and keep watching Netflix. The message may reappear when they open Netflix again, and eventually they could be required to open a new account to continue streaming.
“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” a Netflix spokesperson said. The Netflix terms of service say that users of an account must live in the same household, though the company and other streaming services have declined to strictly limit account sharing.
Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, constantly tests new features with users and it is unclear if the household verification requirement will be implemented more widely. Recently, Netflix began testing a new feature that allows the viewers to set the timer for their favorite movie or show.
The platform had a blockbuster 2020, thanks to the COVID-19 driven lockdowns which forced people to stay inside their homes and depend on digital media for entertainment. By the end of last year, the number of subscribers on the popular streaming platform crossed 200 million globally and it will no longer need to borrow billions of dollars to finance its broad range of TV shows and movies, the company informed.
