Netflix Says New Password Sharing Rules Were Posted By Accident

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Days after revealing its plans to crack down on password sharing, Netflix announced its new rules were posted by mistake.

The streaming giant said the guidelines, which are currently being tested in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, were shared accidentally on its website in the U.S., The Guardian reports. It has since been taken down. "For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru went live in other countries. We have since updated it," a spokesperson told the news outlet.

What Netflix accidentally revealed was a set of guidelines users need to follow in order to avoid their account being blocked. That includes requiring its users to live in the same household as the primary account holder, and even be connected to the same Wi-Fi network to keep streaming your favorite shows. If users are consistently accessing a Netflix account from outside the main household, which is tracked using IP addresses, device IDs and account activity, the account is at risk of being blocked. Another way to keep your account from being blocked is to log in at least once every 31 days on the primary household's Wi-Fi network.

Several news outlets have hinted at these guidelines being rolled out to the U.S. as soon as the first quarter of 2023.

Netflix's UNO Reverse Card moment comes days after Twitter users found an old tweet from 2017 where the streaming giant said "Love is sharing a password." The internet had a field day with this resurfaced tweet, and even believe it led to Netflix's announcement about the accidental publishing of guidelines.

Only time will tell when Netflix's crackdown on password sharing will hit the U.S. In the mean time, check out what's coming to Netflix in February 2023.


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