Unauthorized account sharing is a pervasive threat to digital platforms. This widespread issue—often perceived as harmless by consumers—is eating into your revenue, skewing your user metrics, and diminishing the experience for your legitimate customers.

The cost is staggering, especially in the streaming industry. The habit of sharing online passwords to streaming and other subscription video-on-demand services amounted to about $25 billion in lost revenue before the industry began clamping down on unauthorized account sharing. Netflix alone had been experiencing estimated losses of $6 billion per year, according to Citi equity analyst Jason Bazinet. 

But despite crackdowns, a survey by Forbes Advisor found that 56% of Americans still share passwords on streaming accounts. SaaS providers, online education platforms, gaming companies and other industries face similar challenges, with unauthorized account sharing leading to lost sales, faulty user metrics and increased operational costs.

As businesses increasingly rely on subscription-based models, protecting revenue and ensuring a high-quality experience for paying customers is paramount. That’s where device identification comes into play.

How Device Identification Prevents Unauthorized Account Sharing Across Industries 

Device identification (device ID) is a powerful tool that creates a unique identifier for each device accessing an account. By analyzing a combination of hardware and software characteristics, such as the device’s operating system, browser version and IP address, device ID technology generates a distinct digital fingerprint for each device. 

This granular level of identification allows your platform to track and manage device-specific activity, providing a robust foundation for preventing unauthorized account sharing. With device ID in place, your platform can:

1. Limit device access: By setting a maximum number of devices per account, you can prevent excessive sharing while accommodating legitimate family or business use.
2. Identify suspicious activity: Device ID helps detect unusual patterns, such as multiple logins from geographically distant locations within a short timeframe—a common indicator of unauthorized sharing.
3. Restrict unauthorized devices: When suspicious activity is detected, your platform can inhibit specific devices without disrupting access for legitimate users.
4. Facilitate legitimate sharing: Device ID allows companies to differentiate between authorized and unauthorized sharing, enabling you to offer family, team or enterprise plans that cater to legitimate sharing needs.

The Arkose Device ID Advantage 

At Arkose Labs, we’ve developed an advanced device identification solution that surpasses traditional fingerprinting methods. Our Arkose Device ID integrates real-time contextual intelligence with robust anti-spoofing capabilities, creating persistent identifiers that resist tampering by fraudsters.

By incorporating Arkose Device ID into your user management systems, you can map suspicious patterns across devices and accounts, identifying unauthorized sharing and targeting friction to high-risk devices without impacting legitimate account use.

We don’t just provide a device ID—we deliver the full context with 35+ additional device data signals. For example, Arkose Device ID detects suspicious patterns such as multiple devices from different locations accessing a single account within a short time frame. Even when users attempt to hide their activity by using VPNs or manipulating their browser settings, our solution provides the granular detail needed to identify and address unauthorized sharing. 

And our ongoing updates ensure that you stay ahead of evolving sharing tactics, providing long-term protection against revenue loss and user experience degradation.

Securing Your Platform and Users 

When integrated into your fraud prevention architecture, Arkose Device ID provides a powerful solution to combat unauthorized account sharing that balances security and convenience, enabling you to:

• Reduce unauthorized sharing and recover lost subscription revenue
• Maintain a seamless experience for legitimate users
• Gain valuable insights into sharing behavior and platform usage
• Fortify your overall security posture against emerging threats

Whether you’re a streaming service, SaaS provider, online education platform, gaming company,  subscription-based news outlet or other enterprise, protecting your platform from unauthorized account sharing is essential for long-term success. By implementing advanced device identification solutions like Arkose Device ID, you can defend your bottom line while delivering the high-quality, personalized experiences that users expect.

Don’t let unauthorized account sharing erode your revenue and compromise your user experience. Learn how Arkose Device ID can help you tackle this growing threat and keep your digital platform secure.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Arkose Labs authored by Casey Joyce. Read the original post at: https://www.arkoselabs.com/blog/device-id-weapon-against-unauthorized-account-sharing/