Netflix Trials Feature To Curb Password Sharing: Here's Why

Are you mooching Netflix access from someone else known to you? Well, there's bad news for you as you won't be able to continue enjoying the benefits without paying for the streaming service. We say so as Netflix seems to be testing a feature that is meant to curb password sharing among users who haven't subscribed to the service in a bid to grow its user base.

Netflix To Curb Password Sharing

An image of an email from Netflix urging users to sign up for their own account for free today has been making rounds on the internet. Besides being tweeted about, the same has been reported by numerous media outlets too including The Streamble, thereby confirming the same from Netflix.

As per the Netflix prompt shared on Twitter, the streaming service claims that those members who do not live with the actual owner of the account need their own accounts to continue watching the content offered by the service. Notably, this policy is also mentioned in the Terms of Use of Netflix.

Going by a report by Hollywood Reporter citing a company spokesperson, this test is designed to ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so. What's known is that the service appears to be baiting those users who use others' accounts to enjoy the content it offers to subscribe to the service and get the 30-day free trial offer.

Netflix Free Trial Benefit

You might be wondering about this trial period offer as Netflix nixed it back in 2020 and offered two days of trial during the weekend. In that case, you need to know that it offers free upgrades to higher plans in the first month of signing up for the service or rejoining the same.

To put it in simple words, if you signed up for the standard plan, you can opt for the premium plan and get the trial period offer. This benefit lets users trial features such as HD and UHD video streaming available in the standard and premium plans of the service respectively. Also, it lets them try simultaneous viewing on various devices or adding additional devices to keep downloads on to watch offline at a later time.

The reports go on to state that it will make exceptions in the free trial offer for those people it knows are using the streaming service without paying for it. Probably, there is no arguing on this front as it is a wise move. Notably, users are asked to subscribe to the service paying as low as Rs. 199 onwards per month and they have been enjoying free service for years, which is a huge amount.

Based on a survey conducted by LendingTree subjecting 1,546 US adults, 4 in 10 participants have been using the login credentials of someone else to use the Netflix streaming service. The survey found that Netflix was the most popular service that users mooched on by borrowing others' login details.

Password Sharing Trials

Eventually, Netflix is running password-sharing trials that will stop users from accessing the service via other's login details. Netflix runs trials on linear viewing and time-based viewing and says that tests are done only with a small set of users. Likewise, the password sharing trial will also not make its way for a wider base of users until it is rolled out widely.