Netflix has been trying to clamp down on password sharing for years now, and it has just added an additional barrier in the form of a new requirement for each profile to have a unique email address.

In other streaming news, Amazon is being sued for forcing Prime Video members to watch ads without reducing the subscription fee to compensate them …

A common way to save money on a Netflix subscription is for friends or family members living apart to share a single account, using the profile feature to keep their viewing history and preferences separate.

Netflix started attempts to block this behavior way back in 2022, when it insisted that all account users had to be based at a single address. Remote users could be added for a fee. The company later said it was using a combination of IP address, device IDs, and account activity to detect unauthorized password sharing.

That ‘feature’ came to the US three years ago, and the company is now adding an additional barrier in the form of new email address requirements.

CNET reports that Netflix is now requiring that a unique email address be added to each account profile.

Earlier this month, some Netflix users began receiving on-screen notices asking them to tie a unique email address to their profile. The notices frame the request as an opportunity to add new features to a profile, such as easier sign-in access and personalized suggestions. But as those who posted screenshots on Reddit pointed out, this change was aimed at accounts with multiple profiles in the same household.

The company confirmed that it started rolling out the new requirement a fortnight ago.

Redditors were quick to note that the requirement is easily circumvented by using variations on Gmail addresses, while anyone else would be able to obtain a disposable email address.

Gmail accepts a +something, so JaneDoe123+somethingNetflix@gmail.com

A couple of users also reported success with another workaround.

Turn off your wifi when opening the app and turn your wifi back on afterwards

In unrelated streaming video news, TNW reports Amazon is facing action in Australia for showing ads to Prime Video users without reducing the subscription by way of compensation.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleges that Amazon buried unfair terms in its Prime subscription contracts and then used those terms to quietly introduce advertising to Prime Video, leaving subscribers who had paid for an ad-free service with no way to get their money back […]

The regulator alleges that between November 2023 and August 2025, Amazon Australia used unfair contract terms to impose negative changes on more than one million annual subscribers without offering compensation.

Even if you pay the additional fee to remove ads, some TV shows still display them because different rights agreements apply.

• Official Apple Store on Amazon
• Discounted AirPods Pro 3
• Wireless CarPlay adapter
• AirTag holders and accessories
• Mac Pro-style Mac mini casing
• NordVPN – privacy-first VPN with no logs and independent audits to verify

Screengrab via Scotti_Dev