Ob Films, series, music, audio books: Streaming is booming. Practical that Netflix, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Prime Video, Tidal, Spotify & Co. often offer so-called family subscription models, in which several can share an account. Streaming becomes much cheaper this way. But shouldn’t you actually only share the password with people who live under the same roof?
“As a rule, a subscription of this kind pays off with just two users,” says Christian Bekker from the telecommunications portal “Teltarif.de”. The basic tariff at Netflix costs about eight euros. The standard tariff, where two users can stream in parallel, is only four euros more expensive – divided by two, you end up with just six euros per person. The Netflix premium tariff even allows four users for 16 euros.
Family music subscriptions usually cost 15 euros
The same applies to music streaming. “Regardless of whether it’s Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited: the single subscription costs around ten euros per month, the family subscription for up to six users around 15 euros,” Bekker calculates.
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And that’s not all. With Netflix, for example, the premium subscription only allows simultaneous access to four devices – in principle, according to the general terms and conditions (GTC), you can register with an unlimited number of devices. If streaming takes place at other times, theoretically tens of people can use one account.
Theoretically, mind you. Because in the Netflix GTC it says: The service and all content “may not be shared with people who do not live in the same household”. Means: Roommates and relatives in the same house are okay, the rest is taboo.
Access data for streaming services are passed on
However, the reality is often different. Many users happily pass on their access data to friends, acquaintances, fellow students. The streaming providers know the practice.
“This is registered very precisely,” says Marcel Grobe, who is responsible for press work in German-speaking countries at Spotify. Exact numbers, how often such cases are, however, one does not give out.
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Sky sends the same answer, saying that they don’t want to comment on “specific cases”. Others do not even answer such requests.
But what happens when friends use their own account? “If that comes out, you can be terminated immediately for breach of contract,” says Jens Fusbahn, specialist lawyer for copyright and media law in Düsseldorf. So far, however, he is not aware of any such cases.
Penalties from streaming providers?
This is despite the fact that the terms and conditions of almost all major streaming providers stipulate more or less explicitly that the account may only be shared within one household. At Maxdome it is said that passwords should not be passed on to third parties. And Deezer Family, for example, requires the same address from all users.
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Sky is even more specific: If someone makes their account accessible to others, a contractual penalty is due. It should be twice the actual price for the subscription. On request, the company does not want to say whether such a penalty has already been imposed.
Jurist Fusbahn, however, considers it unlikely that it will come to this. “The streaming house would have to prove that I passed on the access data,” he explains.
Family members can also stream on vacation
So if you get mail with a corresponding complaint, it is easy to deny it. “The risk that this will be pursued is very manageable because it is difficult to understand,” Fusbahn believes.
After all, the family members should also be able to stream on a business trip or on vacation – who is sitting there in front of the device is difficult to check. “Teltarif.de” is also not known to be a case in which an account was blocked or a contract was canceled.
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What is family, what is a household: This question also arises when sharing music streaming services
Source: dpa-tmn
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“However, Spotify has started to randomly request users of a family subscription to provide a regular address,” says Christian Bekker. The company itself explains on request that this has long been common practice. If there were any discrepancies, the “Family Master”, the main customer, was asked to clarify.
Contract changeover for streaming service threatens
In the worst case, the people who have given a different address fly out of the community subscription – or the contract is switched to the normal variant. The address query at Spotify is only done by entering the address or using a card. No one has to present a registration certificate or similar.
Legal consequences are therefore unlikely. With the required data and their control, the providers seem to want to sensitize their customers or at best to cautiously discipline them.
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