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Netflix Is Cracking Down On People Who Share Their Account Details

Netflix Is Cracking Down On People Who Share Their Account Details

According to research, more than a quarter of millenials share their account details with friends

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

One of the greatest things about Netflix - apart from being able to watch almost any show or film ever made - is the fact that you don't actually have to pay for it.

You should, but paying is for saps, right?

That's what friends are for, just ask them for their log-in details and away you go, there's no point in the both of you paying is there, it's just a waste.

Well all that is about to change, because if you are one of this free-loading thieves Netflix is coming for you.

And surprise, surprise, millennials are the biggest culprits for trying to binge-watch Friends on the cheap, with more than a quarter of them giving out their account details to their mates.

At a technology event in Las Vegas a software firm Synamedia unveiled their Orwellian AI system which has been created to track down any account that has been sharing its details with another.

Netflix are cracking down on customers who share their account details.
Netflix/Warner Bros

The creepy software works by analysing which accounts are logged in at any one time and from where, so they can determine who is sharing their credentials.

These seemingly small acts of theft add up too; according to research by Parks Associates, 2021 account sharing could lead to as much as $9.9 billion of losses for streaming companies and $1.2 billion of over-the-top (OTT) revenues.

And as well as regular users skimping on their bill, Synamedia also says the technology can be used to crack down on larger operations making money from streaming services.

The AI tech is so advanced it is able to determine where users are accessing the streaming service, so it can tell whether you're at your actual home, a friends, or even at a holiday home, for example.

The AI software is able to tell where people are using their account from.
Netflix

And - somehow - it can tell if people are sharing their account with friends or adult children.

Subscribers who are giving their password to adult kids who've left home will be offered the chance to sign up to a 'premium account', which will allow them to share their details with more than one person.

And trials have already started, so if you want to keep up with the likes of You, Birdbox, and Black Mirror, you better start coughing up.

Jean Marc Racine, CPO of Synamedia, said: "Casual credentials sharing is becoming too expensive to ignore.

"Our new solution gives operators the ability to take action. Many casual users will be happy to pay an additional fee for a premium, shared service with a greater number of concurrent users.

"It's a great way to keep honest people honest while benefiting from an incremental revenue stream."

The end is nigh.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: World News, UK News, TV and Film, Interesting, US News, UK Entertainment, Technology, US Entertainment