Is It OK to Share Passwords?

Pablo says: My best friend Seb doesn’t have Netflix. Yesterday he asked if he could use my password to finally watch The Office. (I honestly think he’s the only kid in our grade who hasn’t seen it!) Is it OK to share my family’s password with him?

Pablo says: My best friend Seb doesn’t have Netflix. Yesterday he asked if he could use my password to watch The Office. (I think he’s the only kid in our grade who hasn’t seen it!) Is it OK to share my family’s password with him?

Pablo says: My best friend Seb doesn’t have Netflix, and yesterday he asked if he could use my password to finally watch The Office. (I honestly think he’s the only kid in our grade who hasn’t seen it!) Is it OK to share my family’s password with him?

Stephanie says: Go ahead—share away!

    Let’s be real here—everyone I know shares passwords, so I say go for it. Netflix is a huge company. I’m sure it’ll be fine without Seb’s $9 a month. 

    I actually read that streaming services like Netflix expect people to share passwords. They even build it into their monthly fees. In 2016, the head of Netflix at the time said that he “loves” when people share passwords. Why? I think it’s because you’re basically giving Seb a free trial. If he likes Netflix after watching The Office, he might decide to join.

    Think about it this way: You have an Xbox, right? Do you let Seb use it when he comes over? Of course! He doesn’t have one at home, so it’s nice to let him enjoy yours. It’s the same with Netflix. Sharing doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you a good friend. (Just warn him not to give the password to anyone else . . .)

Stephanie says: Go ahead—share away!

    I say go for it. Everyone I know shares passwords. Netflix is a huge company. It doesn’t need Seb’s $9 a month.

    I’ve read that streaming services like Netflix expect people to share passwords. They even build it into their monthly fees. In 2016, the head of Netflix at the time said that he “loves” when people share passwords. Why? I think it’s because you’re basically giving Seb a free trial. If he loves Netflix, maybe he’ll join.

    Think of it this way: You have an Xbox, right? Do you let Seb use it when he comes over? Of course! He doesn’t have one, so it’s nice to let him enjoy yours. It’s the same with Netflix. Sharing doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you a good friend. (Just warn him not to give the password to anyone else . . .)

Stephanie says: Go ahead—share away!

    Let’s be real here—everyone I know shares passwords, so I say go for it. Netflix is a huge company, and it can certainly survive without Seb’s $9 a month.

    I actually read that streaming services like Netflix expect people to share passwords—in fact, they build it into their monthly fees. In 2016, the head of Netflix at the time said that he “loves” when people share passwords. That’s probably because you’re basically giving Seb a free trial. If he loves Netflix after watching The Office, he might decide to join.

    Think about it this way: Do you let Seb use your Xbox when he comes over? Of course! He doesn’t have one at home, so it’s nice to let him enjoy yours. It’s the same with Netflix. Sharing doesn’t make you a bad person—it makes you a good friend. (Just warn him not to give the password to anyone else . . .)

Julian says: “Sharing” is actually stealing.

    It’s really nice that you want to help Seb, but sharing passwords isn’t smart. What if he writes the password down—and someone else finds it? Now they can get into your Netflix account too. This is especially risky if your family uses that same password for other stuff. Even more of your accounts can get hacked. 

    Plus, Netflix may be a service and not a thing. But you still shouldn’t let someone take it for free. Netflix’s rules say that you’re not allowed to share your account with people outside your household. By giving Seb your password, you’re helping him steal. 

    The truth is, I think you’d be sorry if everyone started sharing passwords instead of paying for an account. Then Netflix wouldn’t have any money to make the shows you love! So instead of giving Seb your password, invite him over to watch. He’ll get to binge The Office, and you’ll both get to Won’t it be more fun to laugh at the show’s ridiculous jokes together?

Julian says: “Sharing” is actually stealing.

    It’s nice that you want to help Seb. But sharing passwords isn’t smart. What if he writes the password down, and someone else finds it? Now they can get into your Netflix account too. And what if your family uses that same password for other stuff? Even more of your accounts can get hacked. 

    Plus, Netflix may be a service and not a thing. But you still shouldn’t let someone take it for free. Netflix’s rules say that you’re not allowed to share your account with people outside your household. By giving Seb your password, you’re helping him steal. 

    I think you’d be sorry if everyone started sharing passwords instead of paying for an account. Then Netflix wouldn’t have any money to make the shows you love! So don’t give Seb your password. Invite him over to watch instead. He’ll get to binge The Office, and you’ll both get to hang out. Won’t that be more fun?

Julian says: “Sharing” is actually stealing.

    It’s really nice that you want to help Seb, but sharing passwords isn’t smart. If he writes the password down and someone else finds it, they can get into your Netflix account too. This is especially risky if your family uses that same password for other stuff, because more of your accounts can get hacked.

    Plus, even though Netflix is a service and not a thing, you still shouldn’t let someone take it for free. Netflix’s rules say that you’re not allowed to share your account with people outside your household. By giving Seb your password, you’re helping him steal.

    If everyone started sharing passwords instead of paying for an account, Netflix wouldn’t have any money to make the shows you love—and that would be a disaster! So instead of giving Seb your password, invite him over to watch. He’ll get to binge The Office, and you’ll both get to hang out. Won’t it be more fun to laugh at the show’s ridiculous jokes together?