Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Netflix Password Sharing May Soon Be Impossible Due To New AI Tracking (independent.co.uk)

Posted by BeauHD on from the good-things-coming-to-an-end dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent: A video software firm has come up with a way to prevent people from sharing their account details for Netflix and other streaming services with friends and family members. UK-based Synamedia unveiled the artificial intelligence software at the CES 2019 technology trade show in Las Vegas, claiming it could save the streaming industry billions of dollars over the next few years. The AI system developed by Synamedia uses machine learning to analyze account activity and recognize unusual patterns, such as account details being used in two locations within similar time periods. The idea is to spot instances of customers sharing their account credentials illegally and offering them a premium shared account service that will authorize a limited level of password sharing. The company said it is already carrying out trials with a number of pay-TV operators but did not reveal which ones.

3 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Simple solution: Charge per stream by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is a real simple solution.

    Just charge per stream.

    Share your password with 50 people. You get billed at the Tier 50 level.

    They could even have a family plan so the first 5 streams have a base rate, and charge for every X streams over that.

    Why do they "need" AI to solve First. World. Problems. ?

    1. Re:Simple solution: Charge per stream by scamper_22 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well let's go through all the business problems.

      One of the biggest benefits of Netflix is it's simplicity. I never have to check the billing. It's the same price every month. I don't have to watch the usage like I do on other services or worry about a crazy number of packages.

      So even if charging by stream would be rare, it's still that thing in the back of your mind. Like watching your internet usage cap. You also have to have more support with people calling in wondering when they used their 6th stream and disputing bills...

      You also want to be careful about cutting people off just for streams. Maybe they really are on vacation and are watching netflix. Maybe you actually want some leeway for some general sharing. Like a kid going off to university using his 'home' parents account. You don't want to antoganize customers whose perception is they are legitimate.

      AI is probably just a buzzword :P but if you can really get the data to determine those mass shared accounts where its beyond one household's or one family's general usage and then pursue those... more power to them.

  2. don't need AI for that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Garbage hype. You don't need AI to recognize when a user is streaming from 2 different locations at near the same time. You need an algorithm. A very simple algorithm.