Netflix Adds Way to Boot Specific Devices From a Subscriber’s Account

As Netflix prepares to crack down on freeloaders, the company is introducing a way for subscribers to kick specific devices off their accounts. 

Netflix today added a new section(Opens in a new window) in the settings panel called “Manage Account Access and Devices,” which is arriving for all subscribers globally on the web, iOS, and Android. 

Subscribers could previously see which devices were accessing their Netflix accounts, but they couldn’t boot out a specific one. Instead, subscribers had to use the “sign out of all devices” option and then change the password to keep intruders out. 

The company’s new “Manage Account Access and Devices” is more surgical, and allows an account holder to remotely log out any of the individual devices—such as a smart TV, laptop, or smartphone—from accessing their Netflix account. 

(Credit: Netflix)

The same feature will also list when each device last logged into Netflix, through which profile, and from what location. This will give subscribers a good idea of whether a family member or a stranger has been streaming from the Netflix account while making it easy to shut down access. 

Of course, if a freeloader has your password, they could just sign back in. But Netflix is promoting this much-requested feature as a way for account holders to remotely log out of a Netflix session from a hotel room or friend’s house in case they forget.

“With the upcoming holiday season, there’s no better time for members to have this sort of control over their account,” Netflix added. 

However, the same system may become an important tool for paid subscribers as Netflix prepares to crack down on account sharing early next year. The big question is how Netflix plans to enforce the crackdown; presumably the company will look at IP addresses and geolocations to ensure the Netflix account holder is streaming from their household. The problem is that many Netflix subscribers also stream outside the home, especially when traveling. 

Hence, the new “Manage Account Access and Devices” feature might be the company’s way of creating a dedicated list of devices on which a subscriber can stream Netflix. To add more users to an account, Netflix has signaled it’ll require subscribers to pay extra on top of their monthly fee.