Netflix SMS VERIFICATION Receive the Netflix code on a rented number.

Netflix creates an account with an email and a payment method, and offers a phone number as another way to sign in and reset a password. When you add one, Netflix sends a code to confirm it. People rent a number for a separate Netflix account for someone who has moved out, for a business screen, or to keep a personal number off a streaming account.

The phone number has nothing to do with which country's catalogue you see. Netflix picks the catalogue from where you are watching, and the account's billing country sets the plan and price. Pick a number from the country you live in so the account's details line up. Netflix does not require a phone number at all, so adding one is a choice.

Households and codes

Since 2023 Netflix treats an account as belonging to one household. When the account is used on a TV outside that household, Netflix can ask for a code sent to the account owner's email or phone before playback continues. In many countries the owner can instead add an extra member, paid for separately, who watches from their own home.

Those codes go to the owner of the account, so a number on a different account does not help anyone watch a household they are not part of. Someone who has moved out should have their own account, or be added as an extra member where Netflix offers it. Netflix's help centre lists the countries that offer extra members and what each one costs.

Signing in with the number

If the phone is on the account, Netflix lets you sign in with it and a one-time code instead of a password. That is convenient for a number you keep and a risk for a number you rent, because the code goes to whoever holds the number next.

So after adding a rented number, set a password and keep the email current under Account, Security. Then remove the phone, or change it to a number you keep. The account then signs in by email and password only. Netflix emails the account whenever sign-in details change, so the owner sees every edit.

Separate accounts for separate people

Netflix allows several profiles on one account for a household, and a separate account for anyone outside it. A student who has moved out, an office that shows Netflix on a lobby screen under a business plan where available, or a tester checking how signup looks in another market, each warrants its own account.

Our acceptable use policy covers the same ground. For other subscriptions, see Spotify, and check prices before choosing a country.