After months of waiting, the platform finally invites its subscribers to designate a reference household on their behalf. No more free sharing (or almost) between friends and relatives not living under the same roof, practiced for years by millions of users and even encouraged by Netflix until recently.
With the possibility of additional billing for the creation of paid sub-accounts, and the risk of a ban in the event of non-compliance with these new conditions, this new face of the streaming giant worries many users.
Home Sweet Home
Netflix is, at first glance, very clear on the subject: one household per account, period. Are you a family gathered under the same roof? Your account can be shared between each member without concern. Ditto if you are roommates, or if you share your internet connection between neighbors. An account’s home is primarily designated by your public IP address, and as long as it’s fixed and used by all account users, you should be fine.
For those who regularly change their IP address, who use a mobile connection almost exclusively or who travel frequently, complications can quickly arise. If the platform is ready to consider these cases “ exceptional “, it nevertheless specifies that all users must connect at least once a month to the network from which the household has been designated. Otherwise, the household designation process must be restarted.
For those who do not live under the same roof and wish to preserve the integrity of their piggy bank, it will therefore be necessary to travel a little. A good excuse to get together more often with loved ones. But, let’s face it, the move might not be worth it for some, even those who cherish their friends and family. In addition, it will no longer be possible to use devices that are difficult to move, such as desktop computers, game consoles or streaming devices.
Solutions that will not please everyone
The smartest ones will surely think of creating a personal VPN. With services like CyberGhost or NordVPN, the idea is to hide your IP address under another. But, this is about using a personal device connected to the home network to act as a gateway. So even if you watch Netflix from the other side of the world, the platform will still consider you to be snug at home.
If services such as Tailscale or TeamViewer can facilitate the implementation of a personal VPN, such a configuration can nevertheless prove to be tedious for the less experienced. Also, it might not be worth the effort to access just one streaming service among many others. Finally, if Netflix remains cautious on the subject, non-compliance with this new rule could sooner or later lead to sanctions for the account concerned. Especially since the platform seems to have given itself the means to detect fraudulent use, and it therefore seems difficult to be able to deceive Netflix indefinitely.
Despite everything, there are many who could be tempted by solutions “ alternatives », by creating a new account, or simply abandoning the SVOD service. Indeed, there are a number of restrictions, beyond the monetary aspect, to the creation of paid sub-accounts. If it is impossible to create from subscriptions integrated into third-party offers, such as those offered by SFR or Canal, only holders of Standard or Premium packages can do so. And, even more, in a limited way, since the former can only add one, while the latter can create two. In short, many will be dissatisfied.
Source : Numerama
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8.6
Netflix is undoubtedly the most famous and popular SVOD (subscription video on demand) platform on the market. It allows the viewing of thousands of videos of all types (series, films, documentaries, concerts, shows…). It is important to mention that the contents change according to the countries and the broadcasting rights. Netflix is accessible on many different media, including mobiles (iOS, Android) and computers (Windows, Mac), and can be used directly on a web browser.
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- The most complete on the market
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6