Apps

Netflix is looking to curb account sharing

With new verification feature

Published

March 12, 2021

Luigi Leonardo

Account sharing is one of the most common ways to use Netflix. For a household living together, sharing accounts and creating different profiles are part of how we use Netflix. However, the streaming platform doesn’t exactly agree when friends from different households do it. In a new feature, Netflix is looking to curb account sharing for good.

Spotted by GammaWire, Netflix is testing new account verification measures for users. Rolling out to a few users, the app will prompt unrecognized users to verify their identity. It’s a simple system; Netflix sends a verification code to the account owner’s email or phone number. If the new user doesn’t enter the code after a set amount of time, the app will ask them to create their own account.

The measure isn’t an entirely new system. Other apps use the same measure to ensure security. The measure shouldn’t deter close friends from sharing the verification code within the set amount of time. However, it might be enough to cancel out any friends of a friend from accessing your account.

Netflix discussed cracking down on password sharing last 2019, during its third-quarter earnings interview. Since the feature is still rolling out to a few users, the feature’s future is still up in the air. At the very least, it might come in the near future.

Apps

Netflix expands its cheaper ad-supported tier to Southeast Asia

This also includes more countries in Europe and South America.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

If you don’t care about seeing a deluge of ads on your platforms, you’re an incredibly rare breed these days. That same skill will come in handy for those nicely priced subscription tiers that comes with ads. Netflix, for one, has one of those tiers, and it’s now coming out in more countries.

As is prevalent in other platforms today, an ad-supported subscription tier lowers the price you have to pay every month. The catch, however, is that there will be an occasional sprinkling of ads here and there.

Netflix offers this service, which allows subscribers to get the service for cheap at the expense of their time. Currently, it is limited to only a few major markets in the world. However, the platform is expanding the tier’s reach to more countries in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Starting in 2027, Netflix’s ad-supported tier will expand to 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Netflix says that the ad-supported tier is a popular option for subscribers. Currently, the tier has around 250 million subscribers worldwide. Since some of the new countries have a more budget-conscious attitude when it comes to purchasing services, this number will likely go up after the expansion in 2027.

Apps

Google might limit free storage to only 5GB

The change will affect new users.

Published

May 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Google One is a monthly subscription that gives you at least 200GB of cloud storage for your files and photos. For most people, a Google One subscription starts when Google inevitably tells them that their free storage space is running out and will soon stop backing up files. Starting today, new users might get that warning sooner rather than later as Google tests a lower limit to free storage.

Historically, Google offers users 15GB of free storage as a start. However, especially these days, 15GB can run out rapidly, prompting a Google One upgrade. Still, despite how “little” it is, Google’s free storage is generous compared to its contemporaries.

Now, Google is reportedly going to be more at par with the rest. As spotted on Reddit (via 9to5Google), new users will receive only 5GB of free storage. Based on Wayback Machine, the company changed its policy sometime between February to March.

Notably, 15GB is still available as an option, but users have to link their phone numbers to their accounts first.

According to Google, the policy change is meant to encourage users to upgrade their security. However, critics will point out that it just enables the company to collect more data about their users. Of note, the platform is already pushy about linking phone numbers before the change, but this adds another layer to entice people.

Also, Google confirms that the new policy is only a regional test for now. They have not announced when (or if) the change comes out for real.

Apps

Instagram takes on Snapchat yet again with new Instants feature

Posts disappear after they’re viewed once.

Published

May 14, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The popularity of Snapchat’s competitors is as fleeting as their disappearing messages. However, despite how volatile the market is, Instagram wants to try again with a new feature (and app) called Instants.

Pardon me if you’ve heard this premise before. Instants is a feature that lets users share disappearing photos. However, unlike the 24 hours allotted for Stories, Instants will disappear right after a friend views them, but they can still react and reply to them.

The idea of Instants is to trim the excess fat from what Instagram is these days. Instagram’s Adam Mosseri admits as much when he said users want as easier way to shoot content.

As such, users won’t have access to Instagram’s editing tools. They also can’t upload pre-shot content from their camera roll. Like its contemporaries like BeReal, the new Instants feature is about living in the moment and sharing exactly what users see.

Despite disappearing after a single view, Instants will be automatically archived, so they can be reuploaded as normal Stories later on.

It isn’t the Wild West, though. Even if it pares down all the extra features, Instants will still use the safety features available to all of Instagram. Users, especially young ones, can mute and block others’ Instants. Likewise, parents will have control over when and how their young children interact with the feature.