As of May 23, 2023, Netflix has officially ended free account sharing and offered a paid option for users wishing to share their subscription with people who do not live under the same roof. This decision provoked many reactions and some chose to unsubscribe. But do not panic ! There are still a few tips to get around this ban and continue to enjoy your favorite series without additional costs. Find out how in this article.
Understanding Netflix’s new account sharing policy
According to the Netflix press release, “a Netflix account is intended to be used by members of the same household”. Thus, the addition of accounts outside the home becomes chargeable at 5.99 euros per month for each additional user. However, household members can continue to use their account when traveling.
Why this decision?
The ban on account sharing mainly aims to stem the financial losses caused by this very widespread practice. Indeed, account sharing constitutes a shortfall of several billion euros for the Los Gatos company.
Tip #1: play with the definition of “home”
According to Netflix, a household is made up of people who live together and share the same primary address. But in reality, this definition is quite vague and perhaps subject to interpretation.
Use the account while traveling
As specified by Netflix, household members can use their account when they are on the move. So all you have to do is connect to another device to continue enjoying your favorite programs when you’re not at home.
Tip #2: share your account with people who are geographically close
This technique consists of sharing your account with people living in the same neighborhood or city as you. This will give you a greater chance of going unnoticed by Netflix and not being spotted as being out of focus.
Create a “Netflix” group of friends
To make this method even more effective, why not create a group of friends or neighbors who also want to share their account? You can exchange your usernames and passwords with each other and take full advantage of your respective subscriptions without spending more.
Tip #3: child accounts not affected?
I don’t know if this is general, but for me, the child account is not subject to any limitation. My daughter still has the account that a friend shared with us and has never been worried about a limitation. We, on the other hand, needed to opt for an additional account. This is great, because the additional account does not allow you to have access to the different profiles like before!
In conclusion: circumventing the ban on account sharing is possible!
Despite Netflix’s decision to end free account sharing, there are still ways to get around the ban. By playing with the definition of “home”, sharing your account with people who are geographically close or using a dynamic IP address, you can continue to enjoy your favorite series and films at no additional cost.
However, these tips are not infallible and it is important to remain vigilant of possible consequences. If you absolutely want to share your account with people outside the home, the paid option offered by Netflix remains the legal and secure solution to avoid any problems.
