The SVOD platform now encourages its users to designate their reference household linked to their Netflix account. But will that be enough for the company to ensure that this unpopular measure is applied?
Obviously not. Faced with the economic repercussions hoped for by Netflix and the ability of Internet users to thwart all kinds of restrictions, the American giant has decided to work twice as hard by arming itself with a brand new artificial intelligence program.
The public IP address as a benchmark
From now on, the use of a Netflix account outside his home is prohibited. Subscribers are invited to designate it from the device on which they watch their favorite programs. The platform then recognizes the household using the public IP address of the network to which the device in question is connected. Then, any other device connected to the same network will be able to use the credentials of the Netflix account in question without any restrictions.
What happens when this network changes its public IP address? Should the household designation be restarted, with a potentially tedious verification process? Maybe not, or at least not consistently, because no one wants to see their pizza get cold before they can watch a movie. Indeed, Hervé Lemaire, content protection specialist, explains that Netflix has “ algorithms that automatically recognize the IP address located by region, but also the MAC address specific to the network card of a device “.
Thus, by being relatively lax in its location criteria, and by taking into account various data related to the viewing habits of its subscribers, the platform would leave itself a certain margin of error before annoying them. Especially since it has already announced a number of exceptions allowing users to access their account from several different networks, in the case of regular travelers or alternating guards, for example.
A little more artificial intelligence in the process
If you are already thinking of a multitude of techniques to lure Netflix, know that the platform has already thought of everything. And, who will lend him a hand? Adobe.
The publisher of renowned audiovisual software, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, has recently developed an artificial intelligence program capable of better understanding the behavior of users of SVOD platforms than the algorithms used by them until now. Called Primetime Account IQ, it would be able, among other things, to detect account sharing where more traditional techniques do not always succeed.
While some platforms, like Prime Video, openly mock Netflix and its hostile stance on account sharing, others may follow suit. Indeed, Adobe has not only entered into a partnership with the Los Gatos-based company, but also with Disney+ and HBO Max. Does this announce the almost universal end of free account sharing? Not necessarily, but the Photoshop editor points out that ” US SVOD providers face $25 billion a year in lost revenue due to illegal ID sharing “. Something to think about…
Source : West France, Adobe
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