The move would force thousands of users to actually pay for the service, rather than sharing it with friends and family across the multiple homes. Given Netflix’s previously positive stance on communal use, users are up in arms about the potential change. However, password sharing is arguably one of the worst things you can do for your online safety, which means that Netflix is right, but obviously for the wrong reason. Netflix isn’t unreasonable though. The company plans to still allow password sharing but will likely charge an extra fee for the pleasure of keeping the account in the family. Because this isn’t about password security, it’s about revenue. And that’s the crux of the issue. Netflix isn’t looking out for your online safety, it’s looking out for its own bottom line, which is likely what has people up in arms. Unfortunately, the average user does not take password security seriously. 85% of users state they use the same password for multiple accounts and the most common password in 2021 was “123456.” Some users don’t even see the point of password managers, despite password managers representing one of the best ways to keep yourself safe online. Subsequently, when it comes to password sharing on Netflix, there’s a good chance that users aren’t taking the proper steps to ensure that their account — and the likely other accounts that use that same password — is secure. All this to say that Netflix is probably right about password sharing, even if they are just doing it for the money. It’s not a sustainable model for online security, and the reality is that you could be putting a lot more at risk than your binge sessions by providing others with your passwords.
