Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ have been jacking up their prices lately, in their bid to create as much original content as possible. Because other major entertainment companies also want to cash in on the streaming craze and are pulling their content off their competition to create their own services. It’s just one of the many reasons friends and relatives share their accounts with others. But sharing passwords can be risky. This time, we’ll discuss How to Share Online Accounts without Giving your Password.
Knowing how to share online accounts without giving passwords is actually quite easy. Knowing how could even be the key to solving the increasingly expensive modern way of watching television — which is streaming. It used to be just Netflix but now there’s Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, YouTube Premium, CBS All Access, HBO Max, and the list continues. Friends and family that share each other’s accounts, though a grey area, would be a way to mitigate costs. Again, password sharing can be risky. Some people tend to use the same password for many of their other accounts.
How to share online accounts without giving passwords? Use SharePass. What is SharePass? It’s a Chrome extension that allows the sharing of user accounts without giving away your password—just the username. It won’t share email addresses or phone numbers. It’s also temporary so there’s no danger of perpetual freeloaders.
Share Accounts using SharePass
How to use SharePass? First, you need a Chrome-based browser such as Google Chrome, Chromium, the updated Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi. If you have any of those, then just follow these instructions.
① The fastest way to get SharePass is to simply Google it. The first result goes directly to the SharePass page of the Chrome Web Store. Make sure your Chrome browser is set to allow extensions. Click on the Add to Chrome button to install the extension.
② Advise your friend or family member to do the same. Both the origin and the recipient must have SharePass installed. The SharePass extension will appear on the browser toolbar.
③ Think of a unique user ID and use it to sign up to SharePass. Simply enter your unique user ID and agree to the terms and click on Sign Up. The same goes for the person to share with.
④ So, for example, proceed to your favorite streaming service website and log in. After logging in, click on the SharePass extension icon. Ask for the person’s ID. These IDs will be later stored by the extension so there’s no need to remember and type again. Users can choose from a set of previously entered IDs later on.
⑤ Choose a duration for access. The duration can be set from 4 hours, 1 day, 7 days, or 2 weeks. Then click on Send. The durations are enough that there’s no danger of account freeloading or abuse, and enough time to watch a movie or an entire season of a show.
⑥ Advise the other person that the account is shared. The other person should then click on the SharePass extension and accept the invitation. Once accepted, the browser takes him/her to the streaming website and can repeat the process while the specified duration remains in effect. This could also be applicable on other websites but not all. But it’s highly recommended not to use SharePass for shopping or financial accounts and websites.
Using SharePass should be easy enough after this. There are some questions though that need answering so read on below to answer them.
How Safe is SharePass?
As for security, there shouldn’t be much worry as the accounts are encrypted end-to-end via SSL secured network. The sessions are also stored locally after sending. SharePass does not keep a copy, nor can they view the data. The friends list though may be kept for convenience so there wouldn’t be a need to remember or list down usernames. Sharing can also be done anytime even if the other end is not online. The other person just needs to check if something was shared on the other end at the end of the day.
SharePass is completely safe and was developed by three security engineers. It has passed penetration testing and has cleared cloud audits and code reviews. It’s a great way to share accounts with other people for various purposes.
Other Uses of SharePass
Also, know that SharePass wasn’t made for streaming services only. Individuals can also use it to share confidential data with each other. Businesses can also use it as well. Links sent by Sharepass are a one-time deal so they can’t be reused.
What are the Limitations of SharePass?
There are some limitations though. First, it’s a Chrome extension, so it can only be used within Chrome-based browsers. So standalone apps are out of the question. Second, SharePass is not available on mobile. Third, it may be limited for websites or services protected by a firewall or a layer of multi-factor authentication. Reviews have so far been overwhelmingly positive. The best thing of all, it’s completely free and very easy to use.
SharePass is not working, are there Alternatives?
See how easy it is to know how to share online accounts without giving password. If for some reason SharePass doesn’t work for you, there are some alternatives that are also Chrome extensions. There’s ShareAccount which is very similar to SharePass. There are also F8 Cookies, Jam!, ShareURL, and NoToPass which also has an Android app. These alternatives work in a way that they pass cookie and session information from one browser to another through encrypted channels.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to share online accounts without giving passwords, we hope that you’re successful, safe, and secure whatever your purpose in doing so. While we hope that streaming services will cut their prices very soon, we would like to remind you that sharing streaming accounts still exists as a gray area and we would encourage that you read up on the terms of use for your respective streaming service.
