Google announced that the latest update to Password Manager now enables users to sync their passkeys across multiple devices. Previously, Google passkeys could only be easily saved to Password Manager on Android, limiting cross-device utility. Scanning a QR code on an Android device was previously required to use passkeys on non-native platforms. The update makes it possible to use Google Password Manager on desktop systems that run Windows, macOS and Linux. ChromeOS is currently being beta tested and Google says iOS support is “coming soon.” Continue reading Google Debuts Secure Passkey Sync Feature Across Devices

Netflix has added 9.33 million paid subscribers in Q1, a 16 percent year-over-year increase to 269.6 million worldwide. The growth, attributed largely to a password-sharing crackdown, has delivered the company’s strongest first-quarter customer expansion since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dominant global streamer boosted Q1 revenue by nearly 15 percent year-over-year, to $9.37 billion, and drove profits to more than $2.3 billion for the quarter, a 78.7 percent gain over the same period last year (and a 148 percent leap from Q4’s $938 million). A surprise to many, Netflix announced it will cease reporting quarterly subscriber gains in Q1 2025. Continue reading Netflix Adds 9.3 Million Subscribers, $2.3 Billion in Profit in Q1

Hulu has revised its Terms of Service in an effort to ban password sharing amongst friends and family members outside of a subscriber’s primary personal residence. Hulu has been announcing via email that subscribers will have until March 14 to comply. According to the revised Terms of Service: “If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.” The move by Hulu follows what has been reported as a successful crackdown on password sharing by Netflix in addition to a record number of subscribers in the fourth quarter. Continue reading Hulu Is Joining Netflix in Cracking Down on Password Sharing

Netflix added 13.1 million subscribers in Q4 2023, its biggest gain in a year-end quarter, and the streamer continues to try to broaden its demographic reach by investing in new content, including a new deal for live WWE wrestling matches. The expansion into live-streaming provides an opportunity to draw regular, appointment viewers, something advertisers like. “No entertainment company has ever tried to program at this scale, and for so many tastes and cultures,” Netflix wrote in a shareholder letter that says it plans to spend up to $17 billion on content in 2024. Continue reading Netflix Adds WWE, Touts 12.5 Percent Revenue Growth in Q4

Password management firm 1Password has launched a public beta for a program that implements passwordless logins, joining the trend to eliminate its bread and butter: passwords. Those who sign up to participate, creating a new 1Password account via the public beta, will get “an extended free trial that lasts for the duration of the beta,” the company says. Initially, “the ability to unlock 1Password with a passkey is reserved for new users, but will be made available to those with existing 1Password accounts sometime in 2024. Passkeys let people sign in to accounts without having to memorize a password or manage a secret key. Continue reading 1Password Introduces Passkey Support for Desktop and iOS

After introducing the Chat Lock feature in May, WhatsApp has added something called “secret code,” for an additional layer of privacy protection for extremely sensitive conversations. A secret code makes sensitive chats “harder to find if someone has access to your phone or you share a phone with someone else,” the Meta Platforms subsidiary says. With a secret code, users can set a unique password — different from that which normally unlocks the phone — to give locked chats an extra layer of privacy. An additional option allows the Locked Chats folder to be hidden from the general chatlist. Continue reading WhatsApp Rolls Out ‘Secret Codes’ Privacy for Locked Chats

Disney, which is in the process of completing its purchase of NBCUniversal’s 33 percent stake in Hulu, will begin beta testing a combined Disney+ and Hulu bundle next month for subscribers of both services, according to CEO Bob Iger. Last week, Disney announced it would pay Comcast at least $8.61 billion for the Hulu stake, indicating the final cost could be higher, based on market value estimates by each party’s investment bankers. “We remain on track to roll out a more unified one-app experience domestically via Disney+,” Iger said in discussing the September quarter on an earnings call. Continue reading Merged Disney+ and Hulu App to Launch as Beta Next Month

Netflix can chalk up another solid quarter, with Q3 revenue of $8.5 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year, with 9 million new subscribers for a total of 247 million worldwide. Netflix attributes the strong subscriber growth in part to its ongoing password-sharing crackdown. The company has now officially rolled out what it calls “paid sharing” in all regions in which it operates, reporting that there were fewer resulting cancellations than expected. Rather, it says it has largely effectuated its desired result of converting piggybacking customers into paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix is raising its rates as it continues to add originals and “license titles from around the world.” Continue reading Netflix Raising Rates After Profitable Q3, Subscriber Growth

Earlier this year, Google introduced support for passkeys as part of a larger initiative to improve security and eventually eliminate the need for passwords. Since the launch, consumers have begun using passkeys across Google apps such as Search, YouTube and Maps. As the next step in establishing “a simpler and more secure way to sign into your accounts online,” and following positive feedback from early users, the company is offering passkeys as the default option across personal accounts. When signing into accounts, users will receive prompts for creating passkeys. Additionally, Google account settings will feature a toggle that reads “skip password when possible.” Continue reading Google Makes Passkeys Default Option on Personal Accounts

Passkeys — a secure way to login to accounts without passwords — are back in the news as a bevy of companies lend their support to the cryptographic technology. Windows 11, GitHub and Nintendo are among the latest to go passwordless. The standard, which began gaining momentum last year, has also been embraced by companies including Apple, Google, the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. Each passkey involves two keys — one public and registered with an online service or app, and one private and stored on individual devices, like smartphones or computers. Continue reading Windows 11, GitHub, Nintendo Are Latest to Support Passkeys

Netflix is marshalling resources around its ad-supported Standard plan, pulling the plug on ad-free Basic in an effort to drive more eyeballs to the service’s sponsored tier. The $9.99 per month Basic plan is no longer available “for new or rejoining members” in the U.S. and UK and was dropped in Canada last month. Existing Basic subs can continue the plan until they decide to change tiers or cancel. Standard with Ads has since its November launch accrued more than 5 million subs, according to Netflix, which says 25 percent of new sign-ups have chosen that package. Continue reading Netflix Shutters Cheapest Streaming Plan Without Advertising

Netflix followed its triumphant Q4 with mixed results for Q1, the first quarter under new co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters. The period ending March 31 produced profit of $1.31 billion, down 18 percent year over year. Revenue was up 3.6 percent to $8.16 billion from $7.87 billion in Q1 2022. Paid sharing was launched in four countries in Q1, but the company delayed the broader rollout that was to come with a global crackdown on password piggy-backers, which was originally scheduled for Q1. The wider initiative, which includes the U.S., is now set for Q2. In addition, Netflix announced it would shutter its DVD rent-by-mail program. Continue reading Netflix Delays Password-Sharing Fees, Cancels DVD Rentals

Netflix has cut prices in 30 countries — the U.S. not among them — as customers reevaluate whether they keep the service amidst new password-sharing restrictions in a more competitive streaming market that has generally seen rates increase. The reductions only apply to some tiers, in some cases reducing prices by as much as 50 percent. Affected territories reportedly include Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela in Latin America. In Europe, rate reductions will be available in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia. Parts of Asia — including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillippines and Thailand — will also see price reductions. Continue reading Netflix Reduces Its Pricing in 30+ Countries but Not the U.S.

Netflix is expanding its paid sharing program to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The program, which was tested last year in several Latin American markets, is the company’s attempt to crackdown on the unauthorized password sharing that deprives the company of what one analyst estimates is billions of dollars per year. Where the program is live, subscribers can pay to add non-household members to their account at the rate of an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain. Continue reading Netflix Password Sharing Plan Added in Four Global Markets

At a CES panel, CISA director Jen Easterly sounded the alarm on the current state of cybersecurity in the U.S. “We cannot accept that ten years from now it will be the same or worse than it is now,” she said. “All the critical infrastructure we rely on is underpinned by a technology base that was created in an insecure way.” As head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Easterly is in a position to assess the coming damage, projected to be $8 trillion this year. Moderator Rajeev Chand, Wing Venture Capital partner led Easterly and CrowdStrike chief executive George Kurtz in a discussion on how to halt the increase of cyber-insecurity. Continue reading CES: As Risks Rise, Experts Reimagine Path to Cyber Safety