Study: 20% Of Video Streamers Use Someone Else's Password

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I could be wrong, but twenty percent seems a little high. What do you guys think?

According to a new study by The Diffusion Group, roughly 20% of Internet video users are using somebody else's password in order to view the content. The new study dubs this phenomenon "cord cheating," defined as someone using a streaming service password from someone not living in the same household.
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So this "Diffusion Group" was able to get Netflix, Hulu and others to send them data on all their users?

I really doubt that.
 
Not high at all.

I know many well off adults who share passwords with friends and family. I personally think it is repugnant. It is stealing and those of us who are paying customers are the ones who foot the bill for the free loaders.
 
Nice,I'm part of the statistic :D:D

We share passwords in the family. we have different services, I have cable and netflix, my mom has dish, my brother has hulu and itunes and my sister has itunes, spotify and prime (never used if for streaming ever)
 
My wife does this with her sister's comcast login. And she used to do this with Netflix.

I think its repugnant that she does this and tell her that she will go to hell.
Why can't she get her stuff like everyone else, at the 'bay.
 
I do this sometimes with a family member's Netflix account, their terms of use don't disallow it. I'd buy a subscription if they disallowed sharing (as the Crunchyroll anime streaming service does for example).
 
I don't pay for any of those things. Who needs tv when you have youtube.
 
Guy pays for a Netflix account. His girlfriend/wife/children/roommate then use his password to watch stuff. This scenario probably accounts for 90% of their 20% claim.
 
Groundwork to pull the plug on Cable Channels streaming content via Netflix or directly over Internet like HBO Go.
 
Seems about right to me. Most of my friends in college were using their parents' login information.

Netflix doesn't seem to care as far I can tell. Wouldn't it be suspicious that the IP address of all these people using one account are in California, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi? So, yeah, I don't think it's high on their priority list to fix this.
 
This horrible practice must cost at least 150K American jobs. These people should be hunted down, have their property taken away and be put in jail.
 
Anyone who has (or knows) a Comcast login can stream using any of those "Xfinity WiFi" modem hotspots.
 
Man I didn't realize how many ISP employees were on this forum. I guess "repugnant" is the new word of the week.

Netflix specifically addressed people sharing accounts, they expect it. Not sure about the others
 
Is this faux outrage? Netflix and HBO have come out and said they expect this. HBO even said they welcomed it. The thing is, I am subscribed to HBO, Showtime, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Are you going to limit me from using them when I travel or make them device specific or something?
 
Kind of surprised it is that high, but I do this myself.

I have Netflix streaming/dvd and my parents have a dvd plan. They recently got a smart tv, so I let them use my streaming. If my parents didn't have a plan with Netflix I would have had them get streaming for themselves.
 
As mentioned some companies expect this... like Netflix. They have multi-tier pricing, a feature of which is increase in # of concurrent streams...

Seems like a good way to keep the practice in check.

On the flip side it is pretty hilarious hearing the in-laws bitch about it.

My sister-in-law complains that her brother's kids always use her parents Netflix so her kids can never watch anything.

Maybe our plans for a year long netflix sub house warming gift will shut her pie hole (at least about that).
 
dandragonrage said:
So this "Diffusion Group" was able to get Netflix, Hulu and others to send them data on all their users?

I really doubt that.
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Yup, mystery solved.

This is not accurate and definitely not a "study" since none of these companies volunteered their data. This "research" company most likey made a poll and then made innacurate conclusions from it.
 
There's really no way to prevent this other than doing what Netflix has done. Limit the streams to X per account and/or offer additional streams for and additional charge

Companies need to start mandating that their players use the PIN/Code method of adding devices with the ability to revoke/remove individual devices at will. For instance, I should never have to give my kid's our Netflix account information. That's akin for abuse as they give or use my account information at their friend's houses...
 
I don't think it's high. Sounds about right. I share my password with my parents for Netflix, they share their for Suddenlink (so I can stream NASCAR on Fox). They rarely watch Netflix, too. Just the occasional movie.
 
I was at a family gathering a couple weeks ago, and my brother's girlfriend gave me her sister's DirecTV account password so I could log in to HBO GO. As a streamer and cord cutter who has largely missed out on HBO programming for the past 10 years, and as someone who had not watched a single episode of Game of Thrones to date... my brother's girlfriend's sister's password ended up being the coolest birthday gift I got this year!
 
My dad and I share one Netflix account. It says we get 2 streams, and we use it that way.
 
With some carriers there are no rules on not giving out your guest account login information to whomever you want. I have given away accounts to a few people so they can watch HBO, showtime, cinemax, stars, the movie channel, and whatever else I am subscribed to at no cost to them.

After all paying a cable bill in excess of 240 bucks a month.. I don't see the issue. (Yes including broadband access.)
 
Do they mean someone else's account? Using someone else's password makes no sense. And I'm not surprised, this is why these services are limited to how many devices can stream at once. Netflix is two, Spotify is one, I think Sling was one also. It's not even worth the hassle to try to share accounts.
 
HeavensCloud said:
Do they mean someone else's account? Using someone else's password makes no sense. And I'm not surprised, this is why these services are limited to how many devices can stream at once. Netflix is two, Spotify is one, I think Sling was one also. It's not even worth the hassle to try to share accounts.
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Either it's not enforced, or my family never uses their accounts.

My sister and I still use our parent's login (so three households total). We'll sometimes have 2+ streams at the same time in our house alone. So either my sister and parents never use Netflix, or they don't have a limit on my parent's account. Maybe they're grandfathered in. They've been using Netflix for forever.
 
Friend's of ours asked for our HBO password like it was no big deal; so I'm not surprised at the number.

People talking about Netflix make a valid point. You pay for streams.
People talking about Amazon are off their rocker. You pay for 1 prime subscription (that you can have like 4 or 5 family members on (their own accounts).

I have HBO, Hulu and one other that I forget as well. I'm not sure their policies.


If you are going to share a password, you should really look at the terms of your service. Stealing is stealing, no matter what you deem acceptable.

I may be an odd holdout. Ripping CDs and DVDs of the 90's (with intent to share/distribute) was wrong for me too, yet many felt it was acceptable.
 
Whatever. I told my own mother to suck it up and pay the $12 for Netflix, I wouldn't give her my password.

That being said, if it's all in the same house I don't see the problem.
 
I believe it. Wish they'd start banning these accounts.

I hear a lot of people talking about having HBO GO, Netflix and Hulu because they use someone else's pw.
 
docmal said:
Not high at all.

I know many well off adults who share passwords with friends and family. I personally think it is repugnant. It is stealing and those of us who are paying customers are the ones who foot the bill for the free loaders.
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I have to disagree. I am the son of baby boomers, and also a millenial. I thnk. Not sure of the definition on that. When it comes to internet services I have to introduce many in my family to it. Business is changing. Wall Street caught on to it already, I think you need to as well.
 
Yeah, its not that high. If you're customer paying for 2 or 4 connections for Netflix, then i feel you should have the ability to use all of them regardless if it's under the same household or not.
 
jon666 said:
I have to disagree. I am the son of baby boomers, and also a millenial. I thnk. Not sure of the definition on that. When it comes to internet services I have to introduce many in my family to it. Business is changing. Wall Street caught on to it already, I think you need to as well.
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Makes one wonder who failed to teach you morals.
 
Ruoh said:
Makes one wonder who failed to teach you morals.
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Did you seriously try bringing morals into a discussion involving the entertainment industry?

The corporate world, the greed of these companies, has bred people to act in kind to their actions. They call us pirates, thieves, criminals; all while doing the same things themselves, and enjoying massive success/profit for it. They are teaching society not to uphold morals, but to be the bigger scumbag, cuz that's how you make it in this world, apparently.
 
Meh, I watch Netflix using my sister's account.

NukeDukem said:
I was at a family gathering a couple weeks ago, and my brother's girlfriend gave me her sister's DirecTV account password so I could log in to HBO GO. As a streamer and cord cutter who has largely missed out on HBO programming for the past 10 years, and as someone who had not watched a single episode of Game of Thrones to date... my brother's girlfriend's sister's password ended up being the coolest birthday gift I got this year!
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Did you get any passwords from your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?
 
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