Are you one of 8 million Australians apparently using someone else’s Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video or Stan account? Yep, according to Finder, there are 8 million of us who are leaching a streaming service password from family or friends.
In coming to this conclusion, Finder surveyed 1,062 Australians, with 40 per cent admitting to using a family member or friend’s password for their streaming service. They took that 40 per cent figure and stretched it beyond their 1,062 sample size to grab a snapshot of the entire population. It makes sense, but we just needed to clarify the data.
The most mooched streaming service? Netflix. Finder said 30 per cent of their respondents were using someone else’s Netflix account, 16 per cent weren’t paying for their own Disney+ subscription, 13 per cent aren’t using their own Stan account and 10 per cent were logged into someone’s Amazon Prime Video.
How to see who’s using your streaming password
Sharing your streaming password is fine (I know I do), but these acts of digital generosity can quickly add up, though, and before you know it there too many people on your Netflix account and you’re getting the dreaded “too many simultaneous streams” message.
Booting unwanted users from your accounts isn’t particularly difficult, and you also have the option to change your passwords on those services to keep anyone from getting back in.
How to boot someone from your Netflix account
Sign into Netflix on the web, open the drop-down menu underneath your account avatar (top right), then choose Account and Recent device streaming activity. This shows the devices that have recently accessed your account, and where in the world they are, so you can check if anything looks suspicious.
Back on the Account page, click Sign out of all devices to force a sign out on every device except the one you’re currently on. However, if other people know your most recent password, they’ll still be able to log back in. You can change this via Change password on the Account screen.
In the Netflix app for Android, tap your avatar (top right) and then Account, and you get redirected to the same options we’ve already mentioned inside your mobile browser. The Netflix app for iOS isn’t quite so helpful — you just get told to log into Netflix on the web on the Account page.
How to boot someone from your Disney+ account
Open up Disney+ in a web browser, click your profile avatar (top right), then choose Account. There aren’t many options here, but one of them is the option to change your password, which you can do by clicking the pencil icon next to Password.
Disney+ won’t show you all of the places and devices that your account is currently logged into, but you can force a log out on them all by clicking Log out of all devices. Anyone using your account will get kicked out, and won’t be able to log back in (assuming you’ve changed your password to something they don’t know).
The same options are available in the Disney+ app for Android and iOS. Tap your avatar icon (bottom right), then Account.
How to boot someone from your Stan account
Open up Stan in a web browser, click your profile avatar (top right), then choose Manage Account. To change your password, select the second blue button labelled Change password.
On the tab down the lefthand side, you’ll see some options. One of them is Devices. Here you will see the places and devices that your account is currently logged into. You can’t log out of one, rather all of them, which will require you to log back in on your own devices once your password is changed.
You can’t do this on the Stan app for Android or iOS, however.
How to boot someone from your Amazon Prime Video account
If you head to your Amazon account on the web and then go to the Prime Video portal, you can click the cog icon (top right), then Settings and Your devices to see all the devices running a Prime video app linked to your account. Click Deregister to force a logout on any of them.
This page doesn’t cover web logins (though the Watch History tab might give you some clues). To remove access to your account for everyone except you, click Accounts & Lists at the top of the page, then Your Account, Login & security, and Edit next to Password.
In the mobile apps, tap My Stuff, the cog icon (top right), then Registered devices to see devices that have the Prime Video app installed (and to deregister them if needed). You can’t change your account password through the Prime Video apps for Android and iOS.
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