The password-sharing crackdown of Netflix has just encountered a surprising contender: Beluga, a YouTuber who opened his Netflix with more than 800,000 people to share in an incredible pandemonium.
The streaming giant, which banned password sharing in May 2023, required a user to specify a primary location and limited the use of accounts just to those fuzzy heads belonging to such users in the same household unless an extra fee was paid. Many went on social media voicing their frustrations and even deciding to cancel subscriptions, whereas Beluga took the alternate option of pushing Netflix’s limits in the most challenging way possible.
Beluga versus Netflix: the Ultimate Experiment
Beluga put Netflix’s new policy to the test in a video that went viral and is now being watched by over 1.5 million people. He asked to see the comments from his Discord server, whose members number 841,709, associating the caption “fridge reveal”, yet the photo was one with a Post-it note attached that appeared to be showing his Netflix login details.
Within moments, utter chaos erupted as well. When Beluga tried to load Squid Game, it was the same – his Gmail inbox exploded with security notifications: “A new device is using your account. Please review who’s using your Netflix account.” Simultaneously, Netflix flooded his screen with alerts reading “Too many people are using your account right now,” while multiple people attempted to key translations into PIN code.
The Chaos Ends with a Password Change Just as the madness reached its peak, one user decided to change Beluga’s password, locking him out of his account. Viewers found this experiment very entertaining and flooded the comments with reactions like:
- “The Beluga just became Netflix’s worst nightmare.”
- “His Netflix changed languages with the amount of hungry fans.”
- “Only two out of those 800,000 people can watch at the same time!” Some felt disappointed that it finished too soon: “There is always that one person that ruins the fun for everyone.”
Netflix’s War Against Password-Sharing Continues
Stunts like Beluga’s have caught attention in the most dramatic and unnecessary way to show just how unpopular the crackdown has been with regards to users being coerced into abandoning their accounts indefinitely, signing up by themselves, or shelling out yet again to have the status of “additional member.”
This strategy seems to pay dividends for Netflix in revenue boosts, but customers, particularly these new-age creative ones like Beluga, certainly are not willing to take it lying down.
