Goodbye freeloaders: Netflix enables remote logout
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Netflix just made a small but significant change to the way it manages account logins. Now you can log someone out remotely with one click.
Called “Manage Access and Devices,” the new account access control launches today (November 15) and, as described in a Netflix blog post (opens in new tab), lives under your default account settings. Here you can see all the devices that are currently using your account or recently streaming from your account and log them out with one click.
Netflix says this is about people who, for example, travel, log into their account at a hotel or even at a friend’s house, and forget to log out.
Yes. Secure.
It’s also about dominion over sharing account credentials. Former lovers, friends and distant relatives with whom you no longer speak; their access to your account is likely coming to an end.
The change also comes as Netflix is actively trying to curb rampant password sharing and has tested a $2.99 fee for adding additional account members outside of the household.
This latest “feature” could be seen as preparation for the full introduction of that surcharge. Knowing that you can quickly get hackers off your Netflix account before the company charges you is a good thing.
It’s been a year-long rollercoaster for Netflix, which began with declining subscriber numbers and multiple show cancellations to cut costs. The turmoil prompted Netflix to do something we never thought it would: launch an ad-supported tier.
The $6.99 per month tier (£4.99 per month in the UK) delivers most of Netflix’s current library of content, along with 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour. Not everyone is thrilled about it.
As for this new ‘Manage access and devices’, we quickly found it in our Netflix account management under ‘Security and privacy’ and found 21 devices logged into our account. Most were for devices used by the author.
Each record contains the device name, whose account is in use, the last viewed date and time, and a location.
The last bit is probably the most useful. If you see a location you don’t recognize, you can check if it’s a place you’ve been recently, for example, or if someone is illegally sharing your account hundreds of miles away.
If you no longer want that device to use the account, just click “Sign Out.” Whoever was watching will get the boat and will not be able to log in again without the correct credentials.
It’s a whole new, shrinking world for account sharing on Netflix.