How to See Who's Using Your Streaming Passwords
Sunday, June 13, 2021 at 11:56PM How many people have access to your Netflix account? Have you ever received an email warning of a login attempt from an unknown user or new device? It's probably not difficult to keep track of one account, but when there's also Hulu, HBO Max, and Spotify in the mix, it can be hard to remember which friends and family members are watching what.
Don't worry, there's a solution. Just as you can check to see who may be stealing your internet, you can keep tabs on who's accessing your video- and music-streaming accounts. Identify the people you know, nix the freeloaders, or just start new and kick everyone out all at once.
If you think someone has unauthorized access to any of your accounts—whether it's a hacker or an ex—we recommend securing your account with a complex password. Here's how to do a login checkup on Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, and more.
Netflix
If you want to see who is using your Netflix account, click the arrow next to the profile image on the desktop, then select Account. In the Settings section, click the Recent device streaming activity link. You will see a list of devices, along with a general location and date for each. This information should help you determine which devices belong to you, and which may be a friend or family member.
Using the above image as an example, I know that I am using a PC with Chrome and that I am located in New York, so the first result is me. Next on the list is a Roku device located in Massachusetts, which I can narrow down to my in-laws. The Android device and Hisense smart TV, both located in New York, are also mine.
If you don't want to go through the list device by device, navigate to Account > Sign out of all devices, which will force anyone who has your login credentials to sign in again before they can continue streaming.
If you fear that someone you don't know may have your password, change it by clicking Change password on the Account page. Make sure the Require all devices to sign in again with new password box is checked.
Netflix supports video downloads, but only on a select number of devices, depending on your plan. To remove a device from the list, go to Account > Manage download devices. Click Remove device to axe a gadget and free up space.
Hulu
Control the devices linked to your Hulu account my clicking your user profile and selecting Account. Under the Your Account heading, choose Manage Devices, which should show the number of devices currently linked.
Hulu's device descriptions are less useful than Netflix (Web Browser vs. Chrome on PC, for example), but Hulu includes a sign-in date, which might help narrow things down. The exception is that named devices (like "Jason's iPhone") will show up here, but that information is up to the device holder, not Hulu.
Click the Remove link for anything you can't identify. Click Protect Your Account under Privacy and Settings to instantly log out of every device connected to your account. A password will be required to reconnect any devices, which you can change by clicking Change Password.
Amazon Prime Video
On Amazon Prime Video, click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the website and choose Settings > Your Devices. On mobile, tap My Stuff > [gear icon] > Registered Devices.
Here, you can see a list of devices, what Amazon services they are using, and when they were registered to your account. Looking at the items listed in the above picture, I can easily identify devices owned by me and my wife. But if any of the listed items were suspicious, I could click Deregister to remove them from my account.
The only way to change the password for Prime Video is to change your Amazon login credentials. Do this on the web by clicking Accounts & Lists in the top Amazon menu and selecting Login & security under Your Account. Click the Edit button next to Password to change it and set up two-factor authentication.
If you want to sign out of every device linked to your Amazon account, click the Edit button next to Secure Your Account. You may receive an email from Amazon asking you to approve this action. Once approved, you can view the Secure your account page, which will tell you how many apps are signed into your Amazon account. Click Sign-out everything button to revoke access on every device and app integration.
You can also do this on the Android version of the Prime Video app (it does not appear to be an option on the iOS app). Under Settings, tap Signed in as [your name] to sign out of every device all at once. You can then change your password on the main Amazon app.
Disney+
Disney+ doesn't show individual devices or instances to inspect, but you can at least log out of all current devices from the website and mobile app. Click your user profile and select Account > Log out of all devices to force anyone with your login credentials to sign in again. You can also change your password by selecting the pencil icon next to the Password section.
HBO Max
On HBO Max, click your profile and choose Manage Devices to see a list of devices that have used your account. Mobile users should tap the profile icon, then the gear in the top-left corner.
On the desktop, click Sign Out next to any device you wish to remove; tap the X if you're on mobile. Unfortunately, vague identifiers like "Android Phone" and "iPhone"—without any location data—make it hard to find suspicious logins.
Looking at the image above, I know my Android phone is listed here, but there are eight iPhones, three iPads, and two Android TVs also in the mix. I recognize my old Android device based on the date it was last used, but everything else is a mystery to me.
Thankfully, HBO Max lets you turn everyone away by clicking Sign All Devices Out at the top of the list. And for good measure, go to Account and change your password so any offenders are locked out for good.
Peacock
Keep track of what devices have access to your Peacock account by clicking your profile icon, then choosing Account > Devices to see a full list. The service provides you with the platform, sign-in date, and location to help you narrow down each item. I can easily tell my Android phone from my Android TV, but there is no differentiation between web browsers.
You can't remove individual devices from the list, so clicking the Sign Out All link is your only option. If you think someone has your login credentials, head over to the Settings tab and click the Reset password link to change your account's password.
Spotify
Spotify does things a little differently; it lists service integrations instead of individual app usage on mobile or desktop. This means you won't be able to see who might have access to your account, but you will be able to see what app integrations and peripheral devices they are linking to the account, and then remove them.
Find these integrations on the web at Spotify.com by clicking your profile and going to Account > Apps. If you use Spotify with Waze or your phone's alarm, those integrations will be listed here, as will any linked speakers, game consoles, and televisions. If something looks unfamiliar, click Remove Access to get rid of it.
If you think someone may have unauthorized access to your account, kick them off. Open the Account overview tab and click Sign Out Everywhere at the bottom of the screen. This will log out any user on mobile, web, or desktop. Once this is done, we recommend clicking the Change password tab to create a new password for your account.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music allows you to keep track of individual devices linked to your account. Open the web player, click your profile icon, and select Your Amazon Music Settings to see a list of devices. Then click Deauthorize next to an item to remove access or click Deauthorize all devices link to purge everything.
When looking for an unauthorized account, it's relatively easy to identify each of the items on the list. I've used the service via the desktop app, my Android phone, and an extra iPhone, and that's all clearly laid out here. But be aware of the rules: only 10 devices can be authorized at a time, it takes 30 days for a spot to become available, and you can only deauthorize all devices once every 365 days.
Ensure that you don't forget about older devices by keeping the option to Automatically deauthorize devices that have not been used in 90 days checked. However, the web player does not need authorization, so if you think someone is using your account this way, consider changing your Amazon password.
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