Netflix removes password sharing rules from website after user backlash

Netflix has withdrawn its password sharing restrictions that appear to have been posted due to a bug on its platform.

Earlier this week, the streamer updated the password sharing rules on its Help Center Page. It notes that “One person’s Netflix account is for people living together in a household”. Netflix further specifies that “people who don’t live in your household will need to use their own account to watch Netflix.”

The update was met with severe backlash, with some subscribers threatening to cancel their subscriptions.

On Thursday (February 2), Netflix responded to the situation and said the information was shared unintentionally.

A Netflix spokesperson told The Guardian: “For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica and Peru appeared in other countries. “We’ve been updating it since then.”

The Independent has reached out to Netflix for comment.

Since last year, Netflix has been testing a “paid sharing” feature in three countries where the account holder must pay an additional person (defined as someone living outside the account holder’s home) to service access. In Costa Rica, additional fees cost $2.99 ​​(£2.44) a month.

In order for people to have “uninterrupted access to Netflix,” the help document explains that people will have to continue to watch something in their homes every 31 days. Otherwise, they will be asked to enter a temporary code to log in.

However, the streamer admits that if people are traveling or living between different homes, they can still watch everything on Netflix. Both the primary account holder and those living in the household “do not need to verify” the device when viewing, no matter where they are located.

Netflix has threatened to crack down on password sharing for years. Now, after running a test in Latin America, their most recent January newsletter says they will “expect a broader rollout of paid sharing” in Q1.