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Netflix Password Changes Might Cause Rifts In Some Relationships
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AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Trust in relationships takes many forms. And for those who are Netflix-worthy, that means sharing a password. But some Netflix users faced an extra hurdle when they tried to log in. The company says it's doing a test to, quote, "help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so." So when is a password not just a password, but also leverage in a relationship?
SARAH LEMAR: When I was a sophomore, my roommate needed a Netflix password, so I shared mine with her.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN HORROR STORY")
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SARAH PAULSON: (As Shelby Miller) That was the worst night of our lives.
LEMAR: I am Sarah Lemar. I am a graduate student in Milwaukee, Wis. So I had two roommates and we would all watch "American Horror Story" together.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN HORROR STORY")
PAULSON: (As Shelby Miller) Somebody help us.
LEMAR: And within a couple of years, we'd gotten what I thought to be a very big fight. And I thought I could really stick it to her if she didn't have my Netflix password anymore.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHOPPED")
TED ALLEN: Whose dish is on the chopping block?
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LEMAR: She was very into the cooking shows that were on Netflix.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHOPPED")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The dish was very nice looking. We had wished you had concentrated a little bit more on the flavor.
LEMAR: She was just very distressed because I think she was in the middle of an episode, and she didn't remember which episode it was. And she was just distraught.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHOPPED")
ALLEN: Congratulations. You are the "Chopped" champion.
LEMAR: It was kind of a symbolic gesture of the end of our friendship, but that seemed more upsetting to her - that I cut her off from my Netflix - than any of the fight we had had before.
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MARY WYNNE KLING: My name is Mary Wynne Kling. I live in Auburn, Ala. I had just found out I was getting divorced, went through all of the bills trying to figure out how I'm going to financially manage all of this and being a single mom. And I realized that my parents had given me my Netflix subscription for Christmas that year. And so I went and changed the password and didn't say anything to my ex-husband with whom I was still sharing a house. That - at the time, we had a 5-year-old daughter who really loved Netflix.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL INGRAM, ANNE BRYANT, AND CLIFFORD KLINDER'S "FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC")
UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) My Little Pony, My Little Pony.
WYNNE KLING: And he was having a really hard time keeping her entertained without being able to feed her Netflix addiction.
TOM ATCHITY: This story is about partners that manage breaking up while sharing streaming accounts, and I have a good one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SUFJAN STEVENS' "DEATH WITH DIGNITY")
ATCHITY: My name is Tom Atchity. I live in Austin, Texas. I was dating somebody for about two years, and we broke up. It was a very supportive, good breakup - as good as they can be - but still obviously very sad.
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(SOUNDBITE OF SUFJAN STEVENS' "DEATH WITH DIGNITY")
ATCHITY: Two days in, I got home, and a couple of friends were waiting on me. And one of my buddies said, Tom, before you got home from work, your ex had her Hulu account on the Roku, and I happened to fast forward through all of her episodes of all the shows she watches.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: I really like that house.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Laughter) Me too.
ATCHITY: And we also took some time to just completely screw up her algorithm by just watching a bunch of random stuff before you got home.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "UNACKNOWLEDGED")
GIANCARLO ESPOSITO: For as long as mankind has fixed his gaze upon the heavens, the age-old question has remained - are we alone in the universe?
ATCHITY: In that moment, like a cascade of emotions washed over me. One, gosh, that's really stupid. On the other hand, I was like, that is brilliant. What a ruse. And also, I was kind of touched that my friends cared enough to mess with a streaming service on my behalf.
CHANG: These interviews were compiled by NPR's Elizabeth Blair.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
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