Netflix supposedly about to clamp down upon multiaccounting

[Dan Druff]

Netflix, which has been losing a fortune recently, claims that they're going to finally shut down multiaccounters.

This has been discussed for years, but apparently they're on the verge of doing it.

I have long wondered how they could accomplish this. Here are the technical barriers to them recognizing multiaccounting:

- People's home IPs will change over time, sometimes frequently and beyond their control

- Many people have two or more homes, or travel a lot

- Mobile devices will constantly have different IPs when on cellular data, or when connecting to Wifi away from home

- There is no way for Netflix to see MAC addresses of devices when people are watching through a web browser, which is how people watch when on laptop/desktop computers



Well, apparently here's the scheme they came up with, which is pretty smart:

Netflix will observe the "primary IP" that is being used to watch it. That is, it will see which IP is used the most, and assign that as the primary IP address.

In order for a device to be "authorized", it needs to watch at least one video per 31 days from that IP address. If it does not, the device will lose authorization. If the primary IP address changes (such as someone's home IP being changed by their internet provider), the customer can establish a new primary IP, but will need to do so by receiving a code sent to their phone number on file. There will presumably be a limit on how often one can change the primary IP.

I am assuming that "device authorization" will be done via cookies on laptops/desktops, as there's no way for Netflix to see which device is being used via browser. But a cookie could work just as well for this, although it would only work on that particular browser.



However, this method is not without collateral damage to customers. For example, if you primarily watch on your laptop, but you take your iPad on a trip with you, you're fucked if you want to watch Netflix if you haven't watched it on that iPad in over a month.

Additionally, if you are mostly watching Netflix via cellular data, or if you have dynamic home IP addresses which always change, again you are fucked.

Also, let's say you are on a long trip which lasts more than a month. Once again, you're going to have issues.



It remains to be seen if this causes a customer exodus, or if it spurs new subscriptions. Some theorize that the ability to multiaccount is what justifies a lot of people paying for Netflix. Others theorize that clamping down on multiaccounting will cause freeloaders to pay for their own accounts.

Also, it probably won't take long for people to come up with easy ways to circumvent the Netflix multiaccounting ban, such as creating a home VPN for purposes of logging in once per month and establishing that you "watched a video" on each device.

[dwai]

source

just like the PayPal error

[Dan Druff]

Okay, so it looks like they've walked this back, and have bitched out because they're terrified of the fallout.

I can tell you that Netflix's problems are mainly spending-related. They waste an obscene amount of money. Harry Hollywood has a buddy "in the know" about the situation there, and told me that most people would be shocked how much $$$ Netflix wastes. It's kinda like pre-Elon Twitter, but perhaps even worse.

[Sanlmar]

Last thing I saw was Queens Gambit. Easily watched it 5 times.

I cancelled Netflix about a year ago.

I don’t know how much it was but we never even looked to see what was offered after a certain point. You were always disappointed with the offerings.

Gosh, I’m truly sorry I wasn’t able to watch Meghan & Harry. I’m not aware of anything I might wish I could have seen lately.

Netflix will forever be linked to the Pandemic. Bought it Jan 2020 and killed it 2022. RIP

[JeffDime]

I cancelled about a year ago to San. This is a very popular YouTuber. His video did 2.2 Million views in a day. They really had to back track on this. Netflix has so many big money deals with celebrities and then has a huge catalogue of shitty movies & shitty TV shows. What pissed me off was they started cancelling shows after 3 seasons because they felt old shows wouldn’t bring new viewers. Part of the reason they ended up losing old subscribers.

[Sanlmar]

I cancelled about a year ago to San. This is a very popular YouTuber. His video did 2.2 Million views in a day. They really had to back track on this. Netflix has so many big money deals with celebrities and then has a huge catalogue of shitty movies & shitty TV shows. What pissed me off was they started cancelling shows after 3 seasons because they felt old shows wouldn’t bring new viewers. Part of the reason they ended up losing old subscribers.

I loved this video. Sardonic I think is a great word to describe this YouTuber.

I learned about the issue completely. The rules. The costs. He absolutely nails the issue of convenience vs torrent. I can watch any NHL game in high def for free but I pay $99 bucks to just push a button on my tv.

2.2 million in a day. You know, he crushed the subject and he’s a miserable fuck too. Throw me another one of his videos sometime. See…. I’m working that “convenience angle”.

[Sidewinder]

Okay, so it looks like they've walked this back, and have bitched out because they're terrified of the fallout.

I can tell you that Netflix's problems are mainly spending-related. They waste an obscene amount of money. Harry Hollywood has a buddy "in the know" about the situation there, and told me that most people would be shocked how much $$$ Netflix wastes. It's kinda like pre-Elon Twitter, but perhaps even worse.

Can’t they just log you out every time someone fires up the app on another device? Doesn’t seem that complicated to me. What do they care if accounts are shared as long as only 1 person is logged in at a time. Want to log in more than 1 device at a time - make them pay for multiple logins.

Also the binge watching is bad bad for business. Episodes need to come out 1 week at a time.

Also too much woke stuff, obv.