Netflix Source Reports Controversial Password Sharing Rules Were Posted In Error

Netflix has caught a lot of wind this week.

The streaming service has made headlines over new efforts to crack down on efforts to minimize password sharing. The rules, which have surfaced following a year of loss for the company, caused viral conversation on social media.

According to Forbes Australia, The rules in question would require users to log into Netflix on their home network on a monthly basis. Failure to do so would result in the account being blocked.

Users would still be responsible for logging in even if they are away from their primary WiFi network. Forbes Australia also reported Netflix users would be given a temporary code to use that would be valid for a week.

Following the viral response to the controversial new rules, a source with the streaming service reveals the company had made a mistake; the information had been posted to the streamer's official Help Center in error. However, these protocols could be implemented for American users in the future.

Read on to find out more details about Netflix's effort to curb password sharing.

Many Twitter users made jokes about the viral news.

An old tweet from the official Netflix Twitter account came up in conversation multiple times. According to The Independent, users referenced a six-year-old tweet that read, "Love is sharing a password."

"Love is dead- Netflix, 2023," a user posted.

Other users interpreted the news as no laughing matter.

A Twitter user wrote, "please note i get Netflix through my family phone plan. I pay extra to make sure we get multiple streams but my kids don't all live at home. Think about what your [sic] doing. This isn't password sharing. You limit streams and that's why I pay extra. Careful who you punish."

"We're all agreeing to cancel our Netflix subscriptions once it stops allowing password sharing, correct?" another user tweeted, "Let's pinky promise."

".@netflix if y'all ban password sharing I'ma log into my sister's account and cancel it for her," another user promised.

"Pretty sure Netflix is gonna come out on top of this password sharing thing better off," another user wrote. "No way more people cancel because of the lack of account sharing than people that will actually pay for a new account. Netflix still on the decline either way so sucks to suck."

"when @netflix fr implement the password sharing ban, I'll go straight to canceling my subscription and directing my funds to HBO Max because I'm too broke to have those two simultaneously," another user wrote.

The Blast previously reported on the strategies the streaming service has implemented in order to crack down on password protocol, including a "paid sharing option" which would be rolled out prior to the end of the first quarter of 2023.

"While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognize this is a change for members who share their account more broadly," a CBS News report reads, per our report from January 28th. "So we've worked hard to build additional new features that improve the Netflix experience including the ability for members to review which devices are using their account and to transfer a profile to a new account."

Following the viral circulation of the 'rules' concerning password sharing, an unknown source affiliated with the streaming service revealed "For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing new information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, went live in other countries. We have since updated it." (via The Streamable)

There is no official word on whether the steaming service plans to implement these rules in other countries.

The streaming service's ad-supported tier was introduced following the staggering decline in subscription numbers last year. The company also laid off a large number of employees and eliminated around 150 positions last summer, leading the streamer to have to pay severance costs, per our report on the matter.