Netflix: share account - is it allowed?

Technically, it is easily possible to share your Netflix account with friends or family members. But are you allowed to do that at all? We'll tell you in this practical tip.

Netflix: Account sharing is allowed - with restrictions

If you share your Netflix account with people in the same household - such as family members or participants in a shared apartment - you do not have to fear the closure of your account or other penalties. However, sharing with friends or other people outside your household is not permitted.

• This is expressly stated in the terms of use: "4.2 The Netflix service and all content [...] must not be shared with people who do not live in the same household."
• In the Help Center, however, there is a contradicting statement: "If you share your Netflix account with friends or family members, they may also be using Netflix when you want to watch a title. The number of users who are required to streaming at the same time depends on your Netflix subscription. "
• This wording suggests that Netflix at least tolerates sharing your account with friends.
• Still, if you share your Netflix account with someone outside your household, you are strictly violating the terms of service. Accordingly, Netflix could terminate your account without notice - even a claim for damages would be possible, since Netflix at least theoretically loses revenue through shared accounts.
• However, there has never been a case like this and it remains to be seen whether Netflix will take action against sharing accounts in the future. A special tool could help the streaming service to recognize shared accounts in the future.

Share a Netflix account: note the type of subscription

If you share your Netflix account, you should make sure that you have a suitable subscription model.

• There is only a limited number of simultaneously active streams available. This means that if this number is reached through use by other people, you can no longer use the streaming offer at the same time.
• If you use the basic subscription from Netflix, you can only watch a stream on one device. With the standard subscription, this is possible with two devices, with the premium subscription with four devices at the same time.

Be careful when passing on your login data

In the terms of use, Netflix states that you should not pass on your password to anyone else, but this is not expressly prohibited. The corresponding section should rather be understood as a safety note:

• "To keep control of the account and prevent unauthorized access [

  ], the account holder should always have control over the Netflix-compatible devices used to access the service and should not pass on the password or the account details for the selected payment method to third parties. "

• You should therefore only make your password available to trusted persons. As an alternative, you can also set up your Netflix account once on the devices of your friends or family members. No future user identification is required for future use, so you do not have to pass on your password.

Incidentally, you can also use the American offer from Netflix in Germany. We'll show you how in our next practical tip.