The official deadline is over. Yesterday was the deadline day in which Netflix users had to set their main location. We are therefore entering a new era for the service: one in which shared accounts “from before” will no longer be valid if they are not enjoyed in that main location. Theoretically Netflix will block those shared accounts illegally, but that is not happening at the moment.
My mother and brother-in-law are still using my shared account. If you shared a Netflix account with family or friends and they do not reside at your address, it is likely that the platform will detect the situation sooner rather than later. Account bans haven’t happened yet that we know of, but at Netflix the goal is to prevent the use of those shared accounts if we don’t use them by adding those users as extra subscribers.
In Xataka we are very aware. Several members of the Xataka and Webedia team are especially attentive to this issue and we are carrying out tests that allow us to detect if the account detection system has come into action and how it has done so. Therefore, we will publish that information as soon as we have it available.
Failed to set primary location? In one of the cases in which we have carried out tests we have not been able to establish the main location when trying to do so. On the television in which we were trying it, a message has appeared to try again in a period of 24 hours, as the main image shows.
first notice. The information shared by Netflix reveals that when an account suspected of being illegally shared is detected, a notice will first be sent to verify that the account belongs to the main subscriber. Perhaps you are traveling, for example, and to verify this, you can verify that lawful use with a numerical code.
When will the lockdowns start? Taking into account that yesterday the term to establish the main location of the accounts ended, the start of the “blocks” —we repeat, first there will be notices to verify those uses— could take place as of today, but for the moment we have not received news that those warnings (let alone blockages) have occurred.
Hola, @NetflixES, when configuring the main location responding to the new collection policy, the system identifies that it is “Near Villalbilla de Burgos, province of Burgos”. Since we live in Barcelona, do we have to move to continue watching Netflix?
— Josep Maria Bunyol (@jmbunyol) February 21, 2023
Location by IP. There is a lot of talk about how Netflix should not rely too much on the location marked by the IP with which we use the service. Many users have indicated on social networks that although they are in one city, their IP indicates that they are in another.
But there are other factors. That might not have a particular impact on the illegally shared account detection mechanism: Netflix states in its help center that to identify devices in a household “We use information such as IP addresses, device identifiers, and account activity of the devices connected to the Netflix account”. Thus, there are several factors that influence the detection mechanism. It is not entirely clear if the fact that the location marked by the IP is wrong includes or not in the operation of this mechanism.
At the moment everything is unknown. The detection of shared Netflix accounts raises many doubts for now, and until the notices begin to arrive, we will not be able to ensure if the system is effective and works correctly. What seems inevitable is that in a few days —or perhaps weeks— those notices will begin to reach those affected, who, as we have explained, have several options to continue using the service (and can also cancel it).
