share accounts
How is Netflix and the others doing now?
Sharing accounts in a household is not a problem with streaming services.
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Netflix now asks you to pay extra for shared accounts in Germany. But what about the other streaming services?
There are now enough streaming services. Many people therefore share accounts and thus the costs in order to still be able to stream as many Hollywood blockbusters and series hits as possible. The fact that Netflix now allows additional members to be paid for outside of a household certainly does not meet with much approval from some users. How do five of the best-known providers from the series and film sector in Germany actually handle the sharing of accounts?
Netflix costs up to around 28 euros a month
Netflix hasn’t allowed accounts to be shared outside of a household in recent years, but the provider hadn’t done much about it. The company is now asking customers in Germany by e-mail to book additional members if, for example, they share an account with several friends who live in different places.
4.99 euros per month are due for each additional member. However, the option only exists in the two most expensive Netflix subscriptions. For the “Standard” subscription (12.99 euros) there is an “additional member seat”, in the “Premium” package (17.99 euros) there is space for two additional members. The monthly fee can rise to around 28 euros. Anyone who does not pay additionally and shares their account in this way violates the terms of use. If the streaming service detects such a violation, Netflix can theoretically completely exclude customers. However, it is still unclear how strictly the company will actually take action.
Who watches Amazon Prime Video?
It is currently not known whether Amazon Prime Video could plan similar precautions. But the retail giant is actively shooting against the competition. “Love is sharing a password”, Netflix advertised on Twitter in March 2017. There was a lot of headwind from the British Prime Video offshoot after the Netflix change. “Who’s watching?” Prime Video UK asked on the short message service a few days ago in a picture. Below the profiles shown there is a clear “Anyone who has our password” next to a heart emoji.
On the other hand, however, it is also a much greater sign of trust for users to share their Amazon password with friends. After all, this is not just about access to the streaming offer. Anyone who shares their account gives others an insight into their own orders and also runs the risk that others, for example, order goods without being asked.
“Suspicious Activity” on Disney+
Like the others, Disney+ allows you to create multiple profiles – in this case up to seven. This allows several people within a household to stream different content at the same time. However, the right of use granted by the streaming service in the user contract does not entitle customers to pass on the access data, among other things.
It is unclear to what extent the provider is currently taking action against the sharing of access. “Password sharing is definitely something we’re thinking about,” said Michael Paull, then head of streaming at Disney+. in 2019 according to the tech portal “The Verge”. You are aware that it exists and that it will not simply disappear. There are built-in mechanisms that recognize usage behavior “that doesn’t make sense” – and that should take care of it.
The website “TechRadar” explained a few weeks agothat an account could be seen “suspicious activity” if the account is accessed from too many devices or from too many different locations. This could lead to the account being blocked or closed altogether.
Wow: content “exclusive to customers”
The Sky streaming service Wow allows customers to have two simultaneous streams on up to five registered devices. Again, the terms and conditions prohibit sharing your password with third parties. It is only permitted to pass on the login data to persons of legal age from the same household. In the event of an infringement, access may be blocked and a contractual penalty imposed.
How among other things “The West” reported last year, Sky sent emails pointing out that access may not be shared. The content offered is “exclusive for customers”, it said among other things. Users should please make sure “that Sky is only played on devices from your household”. The provider explained to the portal that customers were “only reminded that our terms and conditions only allow passwords to be shared within one or the same household”.
Even with Paramount+ everything should stay in your own household
As with the competition, sharing access outside of your own household is also not permitted with Paramount+ – even if the streaming service basically offers six profiles and allows as many devices (smartphone, television, laptop, etc.) as you want to use. In Germany, two streams are currently allowed to run simultaneously. However, the service reserves the right to change this number.
Similar to the others, the terms of service state that subscribers are responsible for keeping their login credentials secret. Only other people in your own household may use the account.