How will Netflix password sharing crackdown effect long term RV travelers?

[Jim Gell]

Has anyone learned how Netflix's password crackdown, that is coming to the US this year, will affect those of us who travel with it? 

According to Forbes: "In countries where the password sharing crackdown is active, Netflix is tracking who shares their accounts via the devices used to connect to the platform. It will enforce the end of password sharing by asking devices to “check in” periodically in your home location around once a month. If you have kids at college, they could check their devices in when they are home, if they can get back every 31 days."

I am not very tech savvy but hoping that that they might recognize my equipment which includes 3 hotspots and 2 smart TVs that travel with us to know we are RVrs rather than just our physical location such as the towers we are getting our internet through. 

Does anyone think they know how this will work? 

Is there any advice such as should we start streaming through a VPN?

Jim 

[Second Chance]

An article I found states, "Netflix says it uses a combination of IP addresses, device IDs, and “account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account” to determine if an account is being used in the primary account holder’s household." There will likely be an algorithm to determine the status of each device. One can only hope that NetFlix is aware that not everyone in the country/world uses static IP addresses and has figured this into their algorithm. Like you, we will be very interested to see how it plays out. Could be our excuse to drop them - they haven't had much content of interest to us of late.

Rob

[Chalkie]

5 hours ago, Second Chance said:

One can only hope that NetFlix is aware that not everyone in the country/world uses static IP addresses and has figured this into their algorithm.

Back in my working days I had to pay Comcast extra for a static IP as that was what my employer required. I don't know if it is more prevalent today or not.

[jenandjon]

We don't typically use Netflix on the road but when we do I have the app on my tablet and cast it to the TV. 

[fpmtngal]

It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.  The wording scares me - you have to have a primary location and be able to check in every month.

This fall I bought Starlink and decided to cancel my DirecTV subscription.  But I didn’t want to go without the ability to see some TV channels, so I started looking at various live TV streaming services.  It was interesting reading the fine print - Hulu won’t let you sign up without “residential internet.”  The specifically prohibit college internet services, satellite and cellular for signing up, and if you sign up using either cable or DSL, then go somewhere else, you have to use your device at your “home network” once a month.  YouTube isn’t as restrictive, but they have their issues if you are only using Starlink and don’t have cell service when it comes to a network station (they have to verify your location before you can watch it).

The way I’m reading the Netflix announcement, they are going to impose a similar condition - you pick a primary location and have to log in from that location once a month.  I’ll be most unhappy about that because my park in Phoenix provides cable internet.  I’m only here about 4 months out of the year, so there’s no way I could log into my home network (or home location) once a month.

For those who access it only by cellular or Starlink - what are they going to do about that?

Being a full-time RVer does have its challenges.

[jbh]

These services are restricting live TV channel locations; if you don't subscribe to "live" they're not restricted. If what you want is news back home newson works well.  https://newson.us/featured

[hemsteadc]

On 2/11/2023 at 11:27 AM, fpmtngal said:

This fall I bought Starlink and decided to cancel my DirecTV subscription.  But I didn’t want to go without the ability to see some TV channels, so I started looking at various live TV streaming services.

Same here.  At the same time I ditched the Sony 32" TV that became a nuisance and replaced it with a Samsung.  I was pleasantly surprised to find an app for Samsung TV that has a lot of network programming.

Edited February 12, 2023 by hemsteadc

[fpmtngal]

My trailer came with a 12V Jensen TV, and since I boondock a fair amount, I didn’t necessarily want to run the inverter every time I watched TV.  I also had an old AppleTV box from my home ownership days (used it as a hub for Apple’s Home Network so I could unlock my door, change my lights and so on when I was away).  I dug it out when I got Starlink and used it for streaming.  It works well for me since the TV space is quite small (my trailer is small) and a bigger TV wouldn’t fit anywhere.  I did end up buying a new AppleTV as they use a faster, more efficient chip so it uses a little less power.

At the moment I’m using the big inverter all the time - Starlink didn’t like my cheap 700W modified sine wave inverter.  As long as I do that, then I guess there’s less reason to stick with the 12V TV, though I still wouldn’t be able to put a larger TV in (I’ve measured).  So I’ll continue streaming with the AppleTV.

I really don’t care about the “news back home” particularly - since I don’t have a home or an area I’m interested in keeping up with.  But there there are a couple of network shows I might want to watch, plus it is nice to have the ability to watch some national news, so I wanted the ability to watch a network.  I found that Starlink somehow reports my location to Fubo as Denver, so I can get the Denver network stations.  Works for me.

[Vladimir]

On 2/11/2023 at 11:27 AM, fpmtngal said:

For those who access it only by cellular or Starlink - what are they going to do about that?

Being a full-time RVer does have its challenges.

It is not just full-time RVers.

I have a off-grid vacation rental property without cell service or cable.  I just recently put in a StarLink dish and it works well.  More importantly, it gives our guests cell phone service.  I can now get rid of the land line for 911 calls.

I suspect I would not be that hard to identify StarLink ID's that function as business sites.

They REALLY do know everything about you.