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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.

Read more:
How streaming services could change in 2023

Wednesday Addams returns in her own Netflix series, played by actor Jenna Ortega. Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
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No more Wednesday binging unless you have your own account. Pic: Netflix

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.

Dominic West (Prince Charles) and Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana) in The Crown. Pic: Netflix
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Netflix is banking on The Crown and other top shows to encourage more sign-ups. Pic: Netflix

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.

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D’Angelo dies after ‘prolonged battle with cancer’

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Grammy-winning R&B and soul star D'Angelo dies after 'prolonged battle with cancer'

Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.

He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.

The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.

A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”

The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.

The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.

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Eurovision emergency vote on Israel’s inclusion is called off

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Eurovision emergency vote on Israel's inclusion is called off

An emergency vote on Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been called off following developments in the Middle East, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said.

Contest organisers had scheduled “an extraordinary meeting of [its] general assembly to be held online” in early November after several countries said they would no longer take part in Eurovision if Israel participated.

The EBU said in a statement that following “recent developments in the Middle East” the executive board had agreed on Monday that there should be an in-person discussion among members “on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026”.

It said the matter had now been added to the agenda of its winter general assembly, which will take place in December.

Further details about the session would be shared with EBU members in the coming weeks, it added.

It is not clear if a vote will still take place at a later date.

Austria is hosting next year’s show in Vienna. The country’s national broadcaster, ORF, told Reuters news agency it welcomed the EBU’s decision.

Sky News has contacted Israeli broadcaster KAN for comment.

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Will Eurovision boycott Israel?

Faced with controversy over the conflict in Gaza, Eurovision – which labels itself a non-political event – had said member countries would vote on whether Israel should or shouldn’t take part.

Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Iceland had all issued statements saying if Israel was allowed to enter, they’d consider boycotting the contest.

As one of the “Big Five” backers of Eurovision, Spain’s decision to leave the competition would have a significant financial impact on the event – which is the world’s largest live singing competition.

In September, a letter from EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci, said “given that the union has never faced a divisive situation like this before” the board agreed it “merited a broader democratic basis for a decision”.

Read more:
Why Eurovision vote on Israel might not stop boycott
Could Eurovision boycott lead to a competition crisis?

On Monday, Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel released busloads of Palestinian detainees, under a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing an end to the two-year war in the Middle East.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave and killing more than 67,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but it says around half of those killed were women and children.

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Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 – US media reports

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Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 - US media reports

Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died, reports have said.

People reported her death at the age of 79, citing a family spokesperson.

The magazine said she died in California with loved ones but no other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press news agency.

Keaton’s death was also reported by the New York Times newspaper which said it has spoken to Dori Roth, who produced a number of Keaton’s most recent films, who confirmed she had died but did not provide any details about the circumstances.

With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.

She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.

Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for 'Annie Hall' in 1978. Pic: AP
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Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for ‘Annie Hall’ in 1978. Pic: AP

Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, which is said to be loosely based on her life.

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She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.

‘Brilliant, beautiful’

The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.

Her First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.

“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”

Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”

Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the iconic necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.

Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.

Their other films together included 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.

In 1996 she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.

More recently she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.

Keaton never married. She adopted a daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.

Sky News has contacted Keaton’s agent for a comment.

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