Netflix says says new password sharing rules were posted by accident

Netflix has said that updated measures to crackdown on password sharing were posted by the company by mistake earlier this week.

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On February 2, Netflix announced details of its password crackdown, making it impossible to use one account in several locations.

The streaming giant had warned an update preventing users from sharing passwords across several devices would arrive last year. The mechanics of the new system were shared on their website this week but now the streaming giant has admitted some of these were shared in error.

Following widespread upset on social media, with many users threatening to cancel their memberships as a result of the changes, Netflix claimed some new account rules being trialled in other countries had accidentally been added to its help pages elsewhere.

Some of the changes included a feature to let users add sub accounts for up to two people they don’t live with – something that has so far been trialled in South Africa and costs the equivalent of an extra £2-£3 a month.

Netflix said a help page about “paid sharing” coming to other countries went live elsewhere “for a brief time” and had since been removed.

“For a brief time yesterday, a help [centre] article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru went live in other countries,” Netflix said of the page. “We have since updated it.”

A 2017 tweet in which Netflix said that “love is sharing a password” once again went viral in the wake of the announcement.

Love is sharing a password.

— Netflix (@netflix) March 10, 2017

Part of the new rules require a home device to log in every 31 days to the main account, otherwise users will be locked out from their device.

Netflix confirmed that an account can be shared across users, but now only in one household or location. Users logging in from elsewhere will be prompted to register for their own account.

However, Netflix also suggested users in a different locations might be able to use the same account if entering a verification code sent to the email address associated with the primary account holder within 15 minutes.

“When a device outside of your household signs in to an account or is used persistently, we may ask you to verify that device before it can be used to watch Netflix or switch your Netflix household. We do this to confirm that the device using the account is authorised to do so,” the company wrote.

A profile transfer feature is set to be offered to allow users to keep their pre-existing profiles if creating new accounts due to the changes.

Teasing the update last year, Netflix said: “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.

“People move. Families grow. Relationships end. But throughout these life changes, your Netflix experience should stay the same. Today, we’re launching Profile Transfer, a feature that lets people using your account transfer a profile — keeping the personalised recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings — when they start their own membership.”

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