Revealed: How Netflix plans to stop you sharing your password

Published

3 years ago

February 1, 2023

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Netflix’s impending crackdown on password sharing includes plans to force users to regularly connect via their home Wi-Fi.

An update to the streaming giant’s help page reveals details of how the company will finally take a tougher stance against the practice, which millions of people in the UK are estimated to partake in.

While logins will still be shareable within a single home, Netflix has outlined new measures to ensure that any device which uses the account is associated with the account holder’s primary location.

Who will I be able to share my account with?

People within your home can still use your account – so if mum or dad are paying, but the kids are still at home, they can have their own profiles and watch Netflix on their own devices as they do now.

But if the kids have gone to university or moved out, maintaining access to their parents’ Netflix will get trickier.

That’s because by using information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity, the company can detect where users are logging in from and may choose to intervene if they suspect a case of freeloading.

How is this going to be enforced?

Netflix will treat devices which use your account as trusted if they are connected to your home Wi-Fi regularly.

So don’t worry, you can of course still take your Netflix account with you on your phone when you go out, assuming that you bring it back home with you and log in there at least once every 31 days.

But if a device from outside your household signs in or is used persistently, Netflix says it may ask you to verify that device before it can be used to watch anything.

What sort of verification?

Netflix says it will send a link to the email address or phone number associated with the primary account holder, containing a four-digit code that will need to be entered on the untrusted device within 15 minutes.

This “may be required periodically”.

And this will also be needed of you if you are away from your home for an extended period of time, for example if you take your phone travelling and plan to keep using Netflix.

So I can still share my account?

Technically, yes, it’s just becoming a lot more inconvenient, riskier, and could end up costing you.

Firstly, don’t forget Netflix limits how many devices can be using one account simultaneously depending on which pricing tier you’re on, and it maxes out at four at £15.99 per month.

Even if the prospect of constant verification code messages or someone swinging by to use your Wi-Fi isn’t inconvenient enough, Netflix may still act if it suspects blatant password sharing is going on.

Those who are logging in from outside the household will either have to pay up for their own account, or the original account holder will need to spend a little extra.

Netflix has been trialling a feature to let people add subaccounts for up to two people they don’t live with. It’s been testing in parts of South America since last year and costs the equivalent of an extra £2-£3 a month.

Why is Netflix doing this?

Netflix started talking tough on a potential password sharing crackdown during a lull in subscriber numbers.

With more competition from the likes of Disney+ and Amazon Prime, and the cost of living crisis, the company was looking for ways to reverse the trend and boost revenue.

It started trying to tempt account sharers to make the move of their own accord last year, by letting people transfer profiles from one account to another.

The Intellectual Property Office has since ruled that password sharers are breaking copyright law – it’s just down to the streaming services themselves to enforce it.

Entertainment

Oscars set to leave ABC and will be streamed live on YouTube from 2029

Published

19 hours ago

December 18, 2025

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Oscars set to leave ABC and will be streamed live on YouTube from 2029

The Oscars will be streamed live on YouTube from 2029 after being broadcast on the ABC network for decades.

It means the annual film awards will be available to the video-sharing platform’s two billion users for free around the world in four years.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the deal with Google-owned YouTube on Wednesday, saying the streaming giant will have the exclusive global rights to the Hollywood awards from 2029 to 2033.

YouTube will effectively be the home to all things Oscars, including red-carpet coverage, the Governors Awards and the Oscar nominations announcement.

The Academy Awards ceremony has been broadcast by ABC for most of its history, but 2028 will be its last year showing the Oscars as they celebrate their 100th anniversary.

“The Oscars, including red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content, Governors Ball access, and more, will be available live and for free to over two billion viewers around the world on YouTube, and to YouTube TV subscribers in the United States,” an announcement on the Academy Awards’ website read.

“We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round academy programming,” said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and academy president Lynette Howell Taylor.

They said the new partnership with the platform “will allow us to expand access to the work of the academy to the largest worldwide audience possible”.

‘Inspiring new generation of creativity and film lovers’

“The Oscars are one of our essential cultural institutions, honouring excellence in storytelling and artistry,” said YouTube chief executive Neal Mohan.

“Partnering with the academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars’ storied legacy.”

The awards will be available with audio tracks in many languages, in addition to closed captioning.

Last year’s Academy Awards were watched by 19.7 million viewers on the Disney-owned ABC, a five-year high but far below the show’s biggest audience of 57 million in 1998.

The network has been the broadcast home to the Oscars for almost its entire history. NBC first televised the Oscars in 1953, but ABC picked up the rights in 1961.

Aside from a period between 1971 and 1975, when NBC again aired the show, the Oscars have been on ABC.

Entertainment

Rob Reiner’s son appears in court accused of murdering Hollywood director and wife

Published

23 hours ago

December 17, 2025

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Rob Reiner's son appears in court accused of murdering Hollywood director and wife

Rob Reiner’s son Nick made his first court appearance on Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.

Wearing a suicide prevention smock and shackles, the 32-year-old did not enter a plea as he appeared from behind the glass wall of a custody area.

His next court appearance will be on 7 January.

As it happened: Nick Reiner makes first court appearance

Nick Reiner spoke only to say, “yes, your honour” to agree to the date.

He was charged Tuesday with killing the 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference.

Nick Reiner is being held without bail and could face the death penalty.

Along with the two counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors added a special circumstance of multiple murders, as well as an allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.

Speaking outside the court, Nick Reiner’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, called on the public not to “rush to judgement”.

Mr Jackson pointed to “complex and serious issues that are associated with this case” that needed to be thoroughly and “very carefully dealt with and examined”.

He added that it was a “devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family”.

‘Unimaginable pain’

Nick Reiner’s two siblings Jake and Romy have released a statement, saying “words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day”.

“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience,” they said.

“They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends. We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life.”

The two asked for “respect and privacy” and for speculation to be treated with “compassion and humanity”.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested hours later near the University of Southern California, about 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) from the crime scene, according to police.

Rob Reiner was a celebrated director, whose work included some of the most memorable films of the 1980s and 1990s, including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.

He met Michele Singer, a photographer, movie producer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally.

Entertainment

Warner Bros set to rebuff hostile takeover bid – as major backer pulls out of deal

Published

2 days ago

December 17, 2025

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Warner Bros set to rebuff hostile takeover bid - as major backer pulls out of deal

Warner Bros is reportedly set to reject a hostile $108bn (£81bn) takeover bid from Paramount, with one of the prospective buyer’s financing partners confirming it’s pulled out of the offer.

A spokesman for investment firm Affinity, owned by Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner, told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News “the dynamics of investment have changed significantly”.

It had backed Paramount’s bid, along with funds from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal report the Warner Bros Discovery board are set to advise shareholders to reject Paramount‘s bid – paving the way for Netflix, which had struck a $72bn (£54bn) deal.

If the takeover goes through, it would give the streaming giant the rights to hit Warner franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, and Game Of Thrones, as well an extensive back catalogue of classic films.

Money latest: Oil prices fall to lowest level since 2021

It is the latest twist in a takeover saga where the winner will acquire a huge advantage in the streaming wars.

In June, Warner announced its plan to split into two companies – one for its TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming services, and one for the Discovery element of the business, which primarily comprises legacy TV channels that show cartoons, news, and sports.

Netflix agreed a $27.75 per-share price with the firm, which equates to the $72bn purchase figure deal to secure its film and TV studios, with the deal giving the assets a total value of $82.7bn.

However, Paramount said its offer would pay $30 (£22.50) cash per share, representing $18bn (£13.5bn) more in cash than its rival offered. The offer was made directly to shareholders, asking them to reject Netflix’s deal, in what is known as a hostile takeover.

The Paramount deal would involve rival US news channels CBS and CNN being brought under the same parent company.

The US government will have a big say on the final deal, with the winning company likely facing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, a federal agency which scrutinises business deals to ensure fair competition.