- Netflix is trialing a system that involves logging into one’s home Wi-Fi network every 31 days.
- Netflix’s trials in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica show what its password-sharing rules may look like.
- Logging on using the network will link one’s viewing device to the household’s main Netflix account.
Netflix has offered a glimpse into how it plans to clamp down on password sharing.
Also Read- Scientists Have a Genius Plan: Turn Abandoned Mines Into Gravity Batteries
The streaming giant on Wednesday uploaded an FAQ describing a new strategy that’s being trialed only in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru — for now.
Here’s how it works: Users have to watch Netflix on their viewing device either through the app or website while logged into their household’s Wi-Fi network. This will allow the platform to associate the device with the household’s main account, per the FAQ.
To keep a device linked, customers have to access Netflix on the household’s Wi-Fi network at least once every 31 days.
After 31 days, inactive devices will be disconnected from the household’s Netflix account, the FAQ said.
Netflix also uploaded these guidelines on Wednesday to its US help center. At press time, the guidelines had been taken down.
“For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru went live in other countries. We have since updated it,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Guardian.
This new FAQ is, thus far, the only indicator Netflix has released that clues customers in on how it might enforce password-sharing rules.
Also Read– What is a multi-gig router and do you need one?
The streaming company announced on January 19 that it would start cracking down on account-sharing between users. However, Netflix hasn’t outlined how it will restrict password sharing for users in the US or the rest of the world.
Over 100 million households around the world share accounts, which “undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix,” the company said on January 19.
In May, Netflix started trialing a paid sharing scheme in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica. It costs between $2 to $3 per month — depending on the country — to add an extra person living elsewhere to a household’s account.
The company said in a letter to shareholders on January 19 that it plans to “roll out paid sharing more broadly” by the end of March.
Also Read– Earth’s inner core may have stopped turning and could go into reverse, study suggests
Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
