We've all been there - cheekily using the Netflix account of a partner we're no longer dating or a friend we don't speak to anymore.
It's not that Netflix is expensive, it's just a hassle to have to create a new account when you're already having so much fun with your profile on someone else's.
Password-sharing also allows family members or partners living overseas to continue using their profiles on a family account.
This is all about to change, however, after the streaming giant announced that they're updating their rules relating to password-sharing.
Yep, that's right. You can say bye-bye to using your ex's account. According to Netflix, the new terms mean that users will have to define a primary location through their TV, and all devices using the app need to be connected to the same WiFi as the TV.
"A primary location is set by a TV that is signed into your account and is connected to your Wi-Fi network. All other devices signed into your account on that Wi-Fi network will be associated with your primary location and will be able to use Netflix," they wrote (via The Streamable).
Though, users without a TV or primary address will have their location automatically set by Netflix based on their IP address and device IDs. After that's all done and dusted, people living in the home who want to continue using Netflix will have to open the app at home at least once a month.
"To ensure that your devices are associated with your primary location, connect to the Wi-Fi at your primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days," Netflix revealed.
There are already queries relating to whether less used devices will pose issues - given that the main account holder will have to verify the device for Netflix using a temporary code before it can be used. What a palaver!
The internet already hates this idea, as seen on Twitter. "This is going to be delicious. Watching Netflix implode. They think very highly of themselves, dictating how people use their accounts now? As if there's no rival platforms to contend with?", one person wrote.
Another tweet read: "This is such a wild decision by Netflix lmao like, they're aware of long distance relationships, kids in college, and poor people right?"
"Cancel Netflix. They just lost my business. 'Password-sharing' is not a thing, it's called password-using. This is regressive bulls**t borne out of capitalist greed to squeeze more money out of us. People paid for a password and they use it wherever they go," a further person chimed in.
Dropout - a smaller subscription media service provider - even took to Twitter to poke fun at the Netflix drama, writing: "Dropout's new password-sharing rule: you should share your password with a friend who can't afford Dropout, because it would be nice of you [...]."
Only time will tell how Netflix will handle the fallout from its proposed rules. Users could potentially be seeing extra fees for membership sharing - something that has already been tested in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, per Tech Crunch.
