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Over the years, Netflix has made things difficult for those sharing accounts, especially those who do not live at the same address consistently. Now, however, the streaming giant has made another frustrating change for those sharing accounts.
Netflix has long used just one email and one password for its account while allowing for up to five profiles to be created under each account. This made it easy for users to share accounts with family members living under the same roof, or simply have different accounts for different purposes or watch histories.
This month, Netflix quietly made a rather frustrating change to that whole system.
Netflix Requires Individual Email Addresses
Throughout the past several days, many Netflix users have begun receiving in-app pop-ups asking each member in a shared account to add individual email addresses to their profiles.
"Personalised new ways to enjoy Netflix are coming," the pop-up reads. "Add an email address to your profile for easier sign-in access, to recover your account, get personalised suggestions and more."
While not every Netflix user has received such a message when using the app, Netflix did confirm to Ars Technica that this is a "permanent" change that quietly went into effect on June 15. So if you haven't received a pop-up yet, it's likely coming.
It's worth noting that the email requirement doesn’t apply to profiles designated as belonging to a child.
A Frustrating Change
This change does have some perks, as it could allow them to more easily change their login credentials, log in to a new device, or use two-factor authentication. It also allows secondary users to personalize their own settings without the primary user.
However, the change has been quite frustrating to many users.
For starters, the in-app pop-up does not clear until the request is complete. So if you were planning to watch a show or movie, you might find yourself suddenly having to update your profile before you're able to proceed.
Secondly, many users have expressed frustration, explaining that they regularly use multiple profiles, and this change makes switching between them much more cumbersome.
"There are only 2 of us in the house, only us two log in to the account. We have multiple profiles as we have a joint (the main) profile, then our individual profiles. I have one for a second language too. But to flick between them Netflix is forcing me to create new logins with differnet email addresses for each one. Is there anyway around this? It isnt practical at all," one customer wrote in a Reddit post.
"I am the only one that uses my Netflix so I created each profile to be for certain types of shows. I have a main one for the shows that are my general [TV], some favs to rewatch. Then I have one for movies, documentaries, reality/competition shows etc. It works great to organize and help if I am in a mood for, say, a documentary, I don’t have to scroll through all the other styles of shows," another user wrote.
Others have pointed out that Netflix’s privacy policy allows Netflix to share users’ email addresses with marketing and advertising companies. Requiring more email addresses from customers allows for more email addresses to be shared with advertisers.
Needless to say, users do not seem to be fans of the change.
