Account-sharing has been a concern for the music and streaming industry, and there have been several attempts to quantify how common the practice is. A survey by financial company Rankrate found that 42% of all U.S. adults have used someone else’s account to access a subscription service. Video platforms were the most commonly shared with 35%, followed by music streaming at 14% of adults.
Bankrate found the practice was more common for younger audiences. Two-thirds (66%) of Generation Z said they have used another person’s account, closely followed by 64% of millennials. Across age groups, the types of connections sharing accounts are generally similar. The most common people to borrow from are friends and significant others, each with 29%. Parents were right behind with 28% and siblings had 26%.
The practice appears to go both ways. More than half (56%) of people with subscriber-only access said they have given out their login credentials to someone else. Again, the younger audiences are the biggest practitioners. Gen Z had 77% and milliennials had 74% who said they had shared their subscriptions.