What does Netflix say about giving someone your password? We tell you everything you need to know about the old art of account sharing.
Although Netflix is one of the streaming platforms with the most competitive prices on the market (in Spain you can access its entire catalog from 7.99 euros per month), sharing an account is a common option in order to pay less at the end of the month.
And it is that who else who least shares or has ever shared a Netflix account (and other platforms) with friends or family, a very good way to lower costs but about which we also have a few doubts. What is the maximum number of users that can connect to the same Netflix account? Is it completely legal? What risks are run by sharing our account with strangers?
Sharing Netflix account is not illegal, although it is true that the platform marks some "buts"
It is true that, as users of the platform, we can configure different profiles to access our Netflix account, however, they are limited to five per user and they all depend on the same Netflix account. So, can we pass our account details to someone to create their own profile? The answer is a huge it depends. We are going to see, in detail, how to share an account on Netflix safely and legally.
Share Netflix account using profiles, what are the limitations? What does Netflix say about it?
Profiles are the most common way to share an account on Netflix: we sign up for the streaming platform and pass our account and password to someone we trust. From there, different devices and usage profiles are configured. Easy, fast and for the whole family. Regardless of the plan that is contracted, we can create up to five different profiles with a single Netflix account.
A very practical function that has the objective, always according to
Netflix, that members of the same family can "enjoy a personalized
experience". After all, the profiles serve so that, within the same account,
we have different content suggestions, lists and ratings, among many other
functions.
Any Netflix plan allows you to create a maximum of up to five different profiles
Remember that no matter how many profiles you have in an account, simultaneous playback depends entirely on the contracted plan. In other words, that we have five profiles created does not enable us for five simultaneous reproductions, that will depend on our plan. No matter how many profiles we have, if we have the basic plan, we can only use one screen to play content. This is the number of screens you can view at the same time within each plan:
- Basic plan (7.99 euros per month): one screen.
- Standard plan (11.99 euros per month): two screens.
- Play premium (15.99 euros per month): four screens
As you can see, even if you pay for the premium plan, you won't be able to enjoy all five profiles at the same time. This is partly the case because, as we said, the purpose of profiles is for you to share your account with members of the same family.
Point 4.2. The Netflix service and all content viewed through the service is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be shared with individuals outside of your household. During your Netflix membership, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access the Netflix service and view Netflix content.
Furthermore, point 5 of these conditions of use makes express reference to passwords and access to the account, discharging all responsibility on the account holder. According to this point, this person must control all the devices that connect to the account in addition to not revealing the password to anyone.
Item 5. Passwords and account access. The subscriber who created the Netflix account and whose Payment Method is charged the fees (the "Account Owner") is responsible for the activity that occurs through that Netflix account. To maintain control over the account and prevent anyone from accessing the account (which would include information about the account's viewing history), the Account Owner must maintain control of all Netflix-enabled devices used to access the account. service and not reveal to anyone the password or the details of the Payment Method associated with said account. You are responsible for updating and maintaining the accuracy of the information you provide us about your account. We may terminate your account or block it to protect you, Netflix, or our partners from identity theft or other fraudulent activity.
As you can read, in case you provide fraudulent information to Netflix or allow flagrant access to your Netflix account, your Netflix account may be terminated or blocked.
Okay, one moment. But if everyone shares their Netflix account, what is going on here? Basically, Netflix does not have or does not want to have an effective way to check if an account is being shared in a legal way (a family with several members and profiles) or rather "rogue" (a dozen friends sharing passwords). What is the difference between a family that lives together hiring Netflix and a group of students who share a flat? What if a family member is going to live abroad? Controlling this seems complicated.
So, with fairly ambiguous terms of use, Netflix tiptoes around the issue. Although more than a third of users share an account, and therefore do not pay for the service, the streaming giant prefers to turn a blind eye, hoping that those who share an account today will be loyal users tomorrow.
At the moment, it is a subject that does not seem to matter too much to Netflix. Even if they lose money with the "problem" of shared accounts (it is estimated that Netflix loses several million dollars a year from this practice), dealing with brown could cost them everything from image problems to user leaks, so it is understandable that the platform does not want to open that melon.
In short, if you are wondering how many people you can give your Netflix account and password to, unfortunately there is no clear answer. Netflix leaves it up to the user to decide whether or not to make a lawful use of their account, only authorizing us to share our account with people who live with us.
What are the real risks of sharing Netflix account
Giving our username and password to a close friend or family member does not have to be a problem as long as we trust that person and we are sure that they will not share our data with a third party.
What can happen if there is a "data leak" by someone in your circle? If you only use that password for the Netflix account, calm down. If not, it is very possible that you have a serious problem: if that new user decides to use your email and password on other platforms in which you are registered (for example Gmail), things can get very ugly.
So, keep the following: if you are going to share Netflix account with other people, whoever they are, use a unique password for Netflix, if possible, also set up a unique email. In this way, in the event that the password reaches the hands of a third party, you will have nothing to fear. Of course, you can always use a password manager in addition to changing the password from time to time to further strengthen security.
In the event that a stranger has access only to your Netflix account (because someone has given them your username and password), that person will have the ability to change plans or restrict access to other accounts by changing the associated email address . Today, it is not necessary to have access to the email account to change the Netflix password, so if your Netflix account falls into the wrong hands you could lose access to it.
If that happens, your only option will be to contact Netflix support for help in recovering your account.
Enter the "Account" section to control which devices are connected to Netflix
How to control who connects with our Netflix user? Simply go to your account options and there access the section called "Recent device streaming activity". In this section you can see all the devices connected to your Netflix account. If for whatever reason you do not recognize any, our recommendation is that, again from the account options, click on "Log out of all devices".
Once the session is closed, if your account partners do not know how to give you a reasonable explanation, change the password.
How to share Netflix account safely, both with friends and with strangers
Of course, the easiest and safest way to share a Netflix account with someone is through trust. Don't give your Netflix account and password to someone you don't know or trust completely. Furthermore, we repeat our previous recommendation: create an email and password that you will only use for Netflix and change the latter frequently. Finally, check the connected devices from time to time and make sure that no one "goes off the tongue". Remember that Netflix plans have a screen limitation: the more people share a Netflix account, the more chances that the simultaneous screen cap will be reached.
In that sense, if you are the person who has been given a Netflix
account, do not abuse. Nobody likes freeloaders. Do not share the password
with anyone and stay grateful, your loyalty will be rewarded.
That said, if you don't have someone to share an account with (because
you live alone or because your friends are more into HBO), the ideal is to
go to trusted platforms such as Subscription or Together Price. In no case
do we recommend buying Netflix accounts on the black market or looking for
partners in certain Internet forums, you have a good chance that it will
be canceled or that you pay and receive nothing in return.
Regarding Together Price, it is a website where you can join a group with
acquaintances or strangers to divide the price of the account among
several, it works both for Netflix and for another fifty subscriptions. It
is especially recommended for sharing accounts with known people.
Find users with whom to share your Netflix account in Subscription
Subscription, on the other hand, focuses more on us being able to share our account with strangers or join the group subscription of other users. It is a 100% secure application with a very simple interface to use, ideal for sharing expenses even with strangers, they are presented as the Tinder of subscriptions.
How to manage Netflix payments when sharing account
For many people who share a Netflix account, the payment will only be made to one user, specifically, the account holder. Right now, Netflix charges each month, directing the receipt into a single bank account, so if you are the person in charge of paying that monthly payment, the easiest thing to do is tell your family and friends to pay you by PayPal or by Bizum.
Payments can be made month by month or a single annual payment with
the amount prorated. Of course, the ideal is to be as transparent and
communicative as possible with these payments so that there is no
unexpected quarrel in your relationship.
In addition to PayPal or Bizum, you can also use other applications
to manage shared payments such as Twyp or Verse, all of which are very
useful for sharing expenses between friends and family.
In case you want to simplify things a little more, once again, we recommend that you use Together Price, which, in addition to facilitating the account sharing process, will take care of managing the payments.
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