At one time or another, we’ve all piggybacked on a loved one’s Netflix account to binge-through a season of Stranger Things.
With the sheer number of monthly subscription services available – it’s not unreasonable for people to share their login details amongst a few family members.
And now, Netflix has addressed the issue.
CEO Reed Hastings has spoken openly about customers sharing their monthly subscription with other people.
“We love people sharing Netflix,” said company CEO Reed Hastings at the Consumer Electronics Show.
“That’s a positive thing, not a negative thing.”
That being said, there is a limit to the Netflix CEO’s generosity.
Chief Product Manager Neil Hunt clarified the extent to which Netflix is happy for you to distribute your membership details.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Mr Hunt said: “We expect that Netflix is a household level purchase, and that sharing with members of the household is a reasonable thing to do.
“When the kids go off to college, are they going to use that login? Well, that’s probably OK, but when the kids go off and form their own household, they want the control of having their own account, so eventually that turns into a new revenue stream for us there as well.”
He added: “The terms of use is sharing within the household and that’s our expectation.
“I don’t think we are obsessed with enforcing compliance with a one-household-per-account constraint.
“Because, in reality, it’s a high-value programme, so that’s what people are going to do.”
Netflix does allow customers to stream shows on multiple screens simultaneously, although this is limited by your price plan.
The £5.99 Basic plan only allows for one, while the £7.99 Standard plan allows for two and the most expensive – the £9.99 Premium tier now lets customers stream four shows at once.