You love streaming Netflix movies and shows on your favorite streaming device, and it’s time for your tween children to venture out into the world of sleepovers and playdates at friends’ houses, where they may have the chance to love Netflix away from your watchful eye. That can open a can of worms regarding your account security.
What should you do before sharing your Netflix password with family members? Today’s lesson is about protocols before playdates. Security talks before Saturday sleepovers. Here are six things you should do before sharing your Netflix password with your family.
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6 Sharing with your family
Source: Samsung
I pay for Netflix and have no problem sharing with my grown children. I also have no issue sharing the password with them, as we all have the same password manager for that use. When Netflix changed its stance and technology regarding password sharing, it changed how we share the service.
If you have a kid finishing high school this year and heading off to college, and you like to keep things like passwords close to the vest, the first thing you should consider for that out-of-town, college-bound child is Netflix’s extra member add-on. You, the account owner, can add another member who does not live in your home. They must live in the same country. This feature doesn’t work on third-party billed accounts or ad-supported accounts.
It costs $6.99 for an ad-supported extra member account and $8.99 for an ad-free extra member account.
5 Who’s still watching?
Keeping all the kids’ friends off your account
Source: Pexels
Your children have friends whose homes they visit, or spend the night at from time to time. It isn’t uncommon for your child to log in to Netflix or Xbox accounts while away, which can cause problems.
Set up household rules for them and talk about logging in and how some web browsers keep a record (cookies) of that login. Also, explain that the person whose home they stayed at may be able to access that account after they leave. You can decide if you want the rule to be that they aren’t allowed to do that, if that makes things easier for you.
There are also best practices you can implement to keep everything buttoned up and accounted for on your end. We go over those next.
4 Best practices for families
Ground rules to help maintain your sanity
Source: Google
The first thing you should implement in your home is to make sure every user has their own profile. These keep the video recommendations appropriate to those watching. When the kids go to bed, you don’t want their Bluey recommendations when looking for your next rom-com to watch.
With profiles implemented, consider enabling profile locks. You can set up a PIN for each profile. That way, they can only be accessed after entering the four digits you chose. This way, if they log in at someone else’s home and forget to log out, that access is useless if the child didn’t share that PIN.
To add a PIN, open the Netflix app and select a profile. On mobile, tap the My Netflix tab, open the hamburger menu, and choose Manage Profiles. Tap a profile, then tap the Profile Lock menu. When there, the prompts lead you through the setup.
Next, you signed up for Netflix with an email address, but did you add a phone number to your account? In case there’s a problem or if you want extra security, a phone number makes it easier to recover the account if you have an issue. Additionally, you can use that number to sign in to the account, which requires your family to access the account through you (if you used your number).
3 Are you still watching?
Regular check-ins with your account activity
Source: Lucas Gouveia/Android Police | Alexey Boldin/Shutterstock
Netflix has excellent tools for monitoring who logs in to the account. You can see what device was logged in and the browser used, if it’s a mobile device. If something looks unfamiliar, sign that device out of the account from your phone. There’s also the nuclear option.
If too many devices are logged in, and you have no idea who they belong to, sign out of the devices logged in to your Netflix account all at once. This means you must sign back in to your Netflix account on all the mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes you use daily, but it’s good to know it’s there if you need it.
This device management is in the account settings under Manage access and devices, while the nuclear option is accessible from the main account settings menu. They knew it would be somewhat popular because it isn’t hidden beneath three or four menu options.
2 No more subsidizing
Kick the birds out of Netflix the nest
Source: Tubi TV
There are free alternatives to Netflix , and it may be time for the kids and others who depended on your generosity to set out on their journey of self-reliance and service discovery. Tubi, Crackle, the Roku Channel, Pluto, and YouTube offer free, ad-supported content.
YouTube offers more than memes, flat-earther videos, and music videos. Much more! Your family members who have been liberated from your Netflix account can find an ever-changing list of free movies and TV shows to watch.
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1 Throw caution to the wind
A great option … until it isn’t
Netflix has technology in place to catch password sharers. You can let go and be free with password sharing, but Netflix looks at the IP addresses of logged-in devices over time. It also requires some devices to verify the home address and account by connecting to the Wi-Fi network associated with the home address and account holder at least once every 30 days.
You can play fast and loose with your password. It may work for you and your family for a while, but Netflix may catch you and require devices outside your home to re-verify, or worse. It’s up to you how you handle this, but there is the threat of having the streaming “firehose” cut off at some point if you violate Netflix’s terms of service.
Your main account won’t be cut off, but violating the ToS could lead to account restrictions or additional charges.
Double down on the security talk
Talk to your children. If they’re old enough to have email addresses and phone numbers independently of you, there should be discussions about phishing and what it is. Talk about not clicking suspicious links or logging in on public devices like a computer at a library, for example.
You can do several things before sharing your Netflix password with family. Taking the time to do them will save you time and headaches. Turn this into a checklist, and go through it so that you can return to your Netflix binge-watching and that obligatory chilling.
