How Many Brits Are Stalking Their Friends’ Subscriptions?
Apparently, about one in every ten clever Brit is secretly squeezing a friend / family member’s programme/streaming account. That’s roughly 4.68 million of us, and the combined savings? A whopping £880 per year—quite the pajama‑budget boost!
Netflix: The Dark Champion of Free‑riding
- There’s a staggering 874,000 souls who decode someone else’s Netflix login.
- At the low‑cost tier (£5.99/month), each freeloader saves over £70 a year.
- All that adds up to a lost revenue of roughly £104 million every year for Netflix.
Amazon Prime: Silently Allen‑Forgot the Billionaire
- Some 680,000 Brits have slipped into a friend’s Prime.
- They’re off‑loading the fee (£7.99/month), collecting an annual saving of around £95.
- And yeah, Jeff Bezos still probably won’t notice.
Spotify, Disney‑plus, NowTV & Others: The Real‑World Price Tags
- Spotify: 561,000 users again with the stolen keys; each is pocketing £10/month, or £120 a year—hitting the company at roughly £67 million.
- Disney+ addicts: 516,000 stealing passes; they save £6/month, that’s £72 a year, costing Disney+ £37 million.
- NowTV: 468,000 covert fans; they squeeze out £13/month or £156 a year, which chips in £73 million to the company’s loss.
More Than This: The “Safe” Services Are Not So Safe
The survey shows thousands of Brits are also slipping into playlists for Apple TV, Audible, PS Now, Apple Music, Hayu, Xbox Game Pass… basically the entire streaming supermarket. If one cheeky warrior stole the usernames from all of them, the yearly stash would hit the sturdy £880 mark.
Bottom Line: The Streaming World Takes a Huge Hit
Altogether, these freeloader habits amount to a £343.49 million a year loss for the industry. That’s a staggering puffery of your favourite shows and music that you’re effectively renting for free.
Ex-Flix and chill?
Britons Swiping Their Ex‑Partners’ Streaming Passwords
Shocking numbers? 258 120 users in Britain have been caught snooping on their former partners’ login details—whether they’re the one freeloading or the one being used. The most popular target? Hayu. 44 800 ex‑Kardashians (or not) take a peek at comedies like Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Real Housewives, twice the figure for any other platform.
Other Victims of the “Password‑Swap” epidemic
- PlayStation Now – 28 080 ex‑gamers are occupying the console and smashing games with their partner’s credentials.
- Other services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ … all watching more strangers than they should.
According to Tom Gaffney, Principal Consultant at F‑Secure, “Borrowing a password is harmless, until the lock is opened and a hacker comes in. That’s happening a lot more than you think.”
Smart Moves to Keep Your Stuff Locked
- Only give your key to people you trust.
- Turn on two‑factor authentication whenever you can.
- Use unique, strong passwords so one breach doesn’t break the whole domino.
Like it says in the, it’s tough to remember every password, so F‑Secure’s Identity Protection helps you stay safe and forget the juggling act.
Keep Your Finger on the Pulse
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