Netflix’s sharing policy, which allowsviewers to simultaneously stream content on upto four devices at a time,isgreat for the two-thirds of users who share their accounts with family and friends.
It also means that peoplemay be hitching a ride on your accountwith your knowing it. Hackers sell access to Netflix accounts on the black market for as little as a quarter. The unauthorized users typicallygo unnoticed until the account holder hits their limit on simultaneousstreams.
If you findcurious titles listed among your recently-watched programs, or have suspiciously reached your viewership limit, here’s how to detect where and when your account is being accessed. You can then kick offany unknowndevices.
Want a better understanding Netflix and other streaming giants? Check out our guide to the streaming-TV wars
Findyour plan
As detailed by Ghacks,headto “Your Account”settings by selecting the option from the drop down menu in the upper left hand corner of Netflix’s homepage. You can see how manyscreens your plan lets you view at once. Netflix’s standard,$7.99-a-month streaming option allows customers to simultaneouslywatchcontent ontwo screens. For an extra $2 a month, viewers can watch on four devices at a time.
See your viewing history
Inaccount settings, you also can find the “Viewing activity”for eachprofile on a Netflix account inthe “My Profile” section. That’swhere you can seewhat’s being watched.
Whenyou select “Viewing activity,”you’llsee a list of recently-watched programs that looks like this:
Netflix allows upto five individualprofiles on a single account (But, again,only two to four devicescan stream from the same account at the same time.) And the accounts page only shows details for one profile at a time—whichever oneyou’re logged into.
To find the activity ofa differentprofile on the same account, go to the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner and select theprofile name you want to view.
Then,repeatthe previoussteps to get back toviewing activity.(Whenthe homepage for the profile loads, select “Your Account” from the drop-down menu. Thecurrentprofile name should be in the “My Profile” section. And you can select “Viewing activity” again from there.)
Learn where, when, and howyour account wasaccessed
Even ifthere aren’t any surprisesin theviewing activitiesineach profile, the mainaccount could still be hacked. Anyone with access to theaccount can manipulate the lists and delete things they’ve watched.
To check who is using theaccount, select”See recent account access” on anyviewing-activity page. This will show you the dates and times the mainaccount wasaccessed, from any profile, as well as the IP addresses (blurred in the screenshot below), locations, and types of devices that wereused. Aside from revealing hackers, you can also see which known devices arelogged into the account, and ask someone to sign off when ithits its streaming limit.
Netflix only detailsthe last five times an account was used. So if you see something suspicious on your account, check who’s accessing itright away.
Give hackersthe boot
If you think you’ve been hacked, or just don’t recognize thedevices onyour account, go back to the your account settings and select “sign out of all devices.” This will disconnect every device onyour account. You canchange your password and re-activate yourdevices on the same page.
