Netflix account sharing has long been a way of life and has been encouraged by the streaming giant in countries like India and Russia. However, Netflix appears to be changing its mind on the issue and is trying to crack down on shared accounts with a new tool.

According to The Streamable, Netflix has begun testing a new tool that attempts to verify whether users are actually in the same household. The effectiveness of this test is questionable.

The news first surfaced online on March 9 when Twitter user @DOP3Sweet shared an image of his TV screen along with a sign indicating that he suspected Netflix was not using his account.

In large letters, it reads "Start your own Netflix for free today," passively emphasizing "your own" as Netflix accuses the user of using someone else's subscription. The small text below that reads, "If you do not live with the owner of this account, you will need your own account to continue watching."

It states.

This is a significant change in attitude, whereas in 2016 Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said that account sharing was a "positive thing," especially in certain markets.

Under the "Join Free for 30 Days" button, users can "prove" that they are not breaking Netflix's rules.

Netflix told The Streamable that "this test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so." We speculate that Netflix is using this tool for accounts whose IP addresses are too heterogeneous. It is not clear whether all users participating in the test need to have the same IP address in order to be considered in the same household.

Of course, you could text the account holder and ask them to send you a code that Netflix will send. If they suspect you are doing this repeatedly, will Netflix be more aggressive?

In other words, if you are using your significant other's account or someone else's account and you are not at their house when they stream, Netflix (like Santa) will sense when you do something wrong. And is ready to stop your free viewing.

Netflix allows multiple streams on the same account, as shown below, but this does not apply to devices that are not in the same house; Netflix's terms of service state (in item 4.2) that "The Netflix service ... . may not be shared with individuals beyond your household."