Sharing your Netflix password could soon be much harder to get away with.

At CES 2019 in Las Vegas, video software provider Synamedia unveiled a creepy new AI-powered system designed to crack down on account sharing.

The firm points to recent research from Magid, which found that roughly 26 percent of millennials give out the credentials for video streaming services to other people.

Its new software will be able to analyze which users are logged in and where to quickly flag shared accounts.

Sharing your Netflix password could soon be much harder to get away with. At CES 2019 in Las Vegas, video software provider Synamedia unveiled a creepy new AI-powered system designed to crack down on account sharing. File photo

Synamedia’s new AI isn’t just for small-time fee avoiders.

Additional research from Parks Associates found that by 2021, credentials sharing will account for $9.9 billion of losses in pay-TV revenues and $1.2 billion of over-the-top (OTT) revenues.

The company says the system can also be used to track down large-scale for-profit operations to slash the losses.

Synamedia Credentials Sharing Insight uses behavioral analytics and machine learning to keep tabs on credentials-sharing activity across streaming services.

The system allows the operator to specify how many users should be using a single account - useful for family sharing accounts, for instance.

The AI can then monitor a subscriber database for any potential fraudulent activity.

And according to Synamedia, it can figure out exactly where and how the account is being used.

The firm points to recent research from Magid, which found that roughly 26 percent of millennials give out the credentials for video streaming services to other people. File photo

The firm says its AI can determine if the user is using a streaming service in their regular home, or at their vacation home, for example.

It can also determine if users are sharing their credentials with friends or adult children who no longer live at home.

In the case of the latter, these users will be offered a premium account that includes a pre-authorized level of password sharing that can be used between a larger number of people.

HOW DO YOU REQUEST TO SEE SHOWS OR FILMS ON NETFLIX? Netflix has a requests page that lets you order shows and movies that are not in your library. The feature is hidden within Netflix's help section. It can also be accessed here. Users can ask for any three movies or TV shows of their choice by filling in the online form - although the company says there's no guarantee it will be able to get them. Netflix has guidelines that point out that some of these requests simply can’t be granted due to licensing issues. Advertisement

Synamedia says the system has already begun trials.

‘Casual credentials sharing is becoming too expensive to ignore,’ said Jean Marc Racine, CPO of Synamedia.

‘Our new solution gives operators the ability to take action. Many casual users will be happy to pay an additional fee for a premium, shared service with a greater number of concurrent users.

‘It’s a great way to keep honest people honest while benefiting from an incremental revenue stream’



