As Netflix has begun its unpopular crackdown on password-sharing in certain regions, Reddit users have uncovered a way around the ban: NordVPN’s Meshnet.
The workaround was first proposed by a user on the UnethicalLifeProTips subreddit in late May.
What is Meshnet? How Does it Bypass Netflix Password Sharing?
Meshnet is a feature by NordVPN — made free for all users in March 2023 — that allows users to set up their own secure and private VPN server. Among other uses, Meshnet lets users access their home network even when they’re traveling outside their country. This allows users to re-route their internet traffic through their home IP address.
Netflix attempts to restrict password-sharing by checking users’ IP addresses to check whether they are a part of the “Netflix Household.” Users who access the account from a different IP address receive an email with instructions to set up their own Netflix account or to get added as an extra member.
A Netflix Standard plan in the U.S. currently costs $15.49 per month, and adding an extra member will cost $7.99 on top. Netflix’s password-sharing ban will apply to users in the United States, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, and Brazil for now.
A user can connect up to 60 devices to their Meshnet at a time — including 50 external devices and 10 personal devices. Since Netflix’s password clampdown is essentially based on checking the user’s IP address, anyone connected to a Meshnet will be able to bypass the streaming platform’s check.
Once users set up Meshnet on the same network as their Netflix home network, they were able to invite family and friends to join their Meshnet and access their Netflix account.
Want to see how it’s done, step-by-step? We’ve broken it down below.
Using Meshnet to Bypass Netflix Password-Sharing Checks
You can follow the steps below to see how account holders used Meshnet to overcome Netflix password-sharing blocks:
- Download NordVPN and sign up for an account.
- Log in to the app, and click on the Meshnet icon on the left side. Toggle “on” to turn on Meshnet.
- You can route traffic through all the devices connected to your NordVPN account by selecting “Route traffic.” To add external devices, click on “Link devices.”
- You can now enter any email address with Meshnet enabled and invite them to join Meshnet.
Once family and friends accepted the invitation, they could route their internet activity through the home network and log into someone’s Netflix account without setting off Netflix flags.
For more information, check our guide on bypassing the Netflix password-sharing ban.
Anyone knows if this is still working? I read on reddit a few days ago that this method is no longer working :(
Hi Pedro! Last time we checked, it was still working as it should. The difficulty is that the Netflix block is mostly being applied to TVs, and using VPNs and Meshnet on there is slightly more complicated than on computers or smartphones, so that might be the cause of some of the issues. Meshnet, for example, is available on Android TV, but not (currently) on any other smart TVs.