Netflix Extra Member: Here’s how Netflix knows you’re not staying in the same household

In case you missed it, Netflix has finally rolled out its password-sharing prevention policy in Malaysia, with subscribers now only allowed to share their Netflix account with people living in their same household. If you do want to share your password with someone you don’t live with, you may be asked to pay RM13 for an ‘Extra Member’ slot instead.

You can read more about the streaming platform’s crackdown on password sharing here, but if you were wondering how exactly Netflix will determine whether or not a device is considered within the same house as the main user of the account, Netflix has published its FAQ page regarding ‘Netflix Households’. A Netflix Household is essentially a ‘collection’ of your Netflix devices that should be connected to the same internet connection at the main place you use Netflix.

To set up your Netflix Household, you’ll need to first sign into a TV at your house that is connected to your internet. From there, open the menu on Netflix and select Get Help, followed by Manage Netflix Household. You’ll then see an option to either Confirm Netflix Household or Update Your Netflix Household. Select the former to set up your Netflix Household, and you’ll then get either an email or an SMS message sent to you to verify your identity, after which you can then confirm on the TV again to set up your Netflix Household.

With your Netflix Household set up, Netflix will use information such as IP addresses, device IDs and account activity to determine whether a device signed into your account is part of your Netflix Household or not. The streaming platform adds that they do not collect GPS data to determine your precise location however. It should also be noted that if you have multiple WiFi networks at home, they may only associate one of them to your Netflix Household. As such, if you watch Netflix at home with different ISP accounts or with different IP addresses, you may be asked to verify that device again.

Meanwhile, if you have not set up your Netflix Household, the streaming platform will automatically set one for you based on the aforementioned IP address, device ID and account activity history. You’ll always be able to update your Netflix Household from a TV later on anyway if the automatically set up TV isn’t the one you prefer.

Lastly, if you don’t watch Netflix on a TV or if you don’t have one, their FAQ page claims that you won’t need to set up a Netflix Household for your account. They did not however specify if this means Netflix will automatically set it for you or not. They also did not specify what happens if a Netflix Household account user streams content away from home, but based on previous reports it’s understood that as long as you use the same primary WiFi connection once every 31 days the device will be deemed a trusted device.

For more information on the Netflix Household policy, you can check out the full FAQ page on it here.