Even though breakups can be hard, nothing beats the feeling of looking up Netflix a month later to see you’re still logged into your ex’s account. Unfortunately, this liberating rush of mooching off your ex’s profile will no longer be possible due to a recently announced policy change. 

On Feb. 1, Netflix customers noticed a policy change regarding account usage. The new rule would require all account users to be in one household, meaning those in divided families or kids away at college, would no longer be able to use the family account. 

Netflix would implement this change by making all account users log into their account every 30 days with the household Wi-Fi. 

Sophomore screenwriting major Jess Blackwell shares a Netflix account with her family back home in New Jersey. Blackwell, although frustrated by the announcement, understands Netflix is just trying to make more money.

“I think they have been losing a lot of money recently,” Blackwell said. “So, I guess this was an effort to help, because so many people share the accounts. Like there are people that have their ex-boyfriend’s passwords from years ago that they still use, and I guess (Netflix) is losing money from that technically.”

Although certain it's just for monetary benefits, sophomore communication studies major Kassidy Doyle told The Panther she is still unhappy with Netflix’s decision to change their policy because of how common it is for families to not all live together. 

“I think it's a bad idea because so many people from the same household live in different places, and I thought the whole point is to share it with your family, but not all families live in the same place,” Doyle said. “Honestly, I think it's a dumb idea.”

Following the uproar about the policy change, Netflix announced later — the same day — that the information was mistakenly released, leaving many people confused whether the mistake was genuine or they were retracting their plan without admitting fault. 

Blackwell told The Panther maybe Netflix was just hoping to gauge a reaction from customers.

Twitter users have been expressing their frustration by referencing a Tweet from Netflix in 2017 that read, “Love is sharing a password.” People are now claiming this love must be dead. 

“I definitely think it's really interesting,” Blackwell said. “Maybe there's a possibility that it was just a PR stunt or they wanted to see if they can test out the idea. But I think it's really interesting if they thought they wouldn't get such a negative response.”

Jessica Journeay, Chapman professor in the School of Communication, understands Netflix is doing whatever they can to make the most money but emphasizes that it’s most important for them to consider their customer’s needs first.

“From an organizational perspective, obviously the bottom line is always going to come down to money," Journeay said. "However, it is this fine line of trying to balance keeping your customers happy and serving them in some way. So for Netflix, it would be providing shows that are entertaining that people actually want to watch. And there's so many different streaming services now that are competition, so they have to entice users to continue to pay for that platform.”

Journeay said she applauds Netflix for always paving the way for other streaming platforms and this is just another example of how other companies will ultimately follow suit to keep up with the competition. 

“I will say that Netflix has always been a company that has kind of spearheaded the new media and new platforms because I remember growing up Blockbuster was really popular and you would have to go and rent (a) VHS at a store," Journeay said. “All of a sudden Netflix came on the market and they would send you DVDs, and then they migrated quickly into streaming. I think what we're seeing with them is trying to navigate the way that technology is progressing and so there's going to be some bumps in the road. So I guess they'll kind of see how this works out.”

Although there has been a mixed response from customers, Journeay said ultimately it is up to Netflix, as well as other companies, to be honest with their customers in order to be the most successful.

“My advice would be to lead with honesty and transparency and take accountability when there are errors or mistakes made and not make excuses for that but actually own it and then make it right," Journeay said.