Netflix has a whole lot of users. But it would have even more if people stopped sharing their passwords with others. Unfortunately, that seems to be a tough problem to solve, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is seemingly not willing to pull out all the stops when it comes to cracking down on this potentially risky behavior.

Having revealed the latest Netflix subscriber numbers---which fell short of forecasts when it comes to paid user accounts---Hastings was asked by an investor during the latest earnings call whether the streaming giant is looking to "turn the screws" when it comes to stopping password sharing.

Turning the Screws on Password Sharers?

Earlier this year, Netflix trialed what looked like the start of a new verification system, with users in multiple countries reporting being shown a notification stating that: "If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching."

However, Hastings seemingly doesn't want to get more heavy handed than this. During the April earnings call, reported by Deadline, he said that:

We will test many things, but we will never roll something out that feels like turning the screws. It has got to feel like it makes sense to consumers, that they understand.

Netflix COO Greg Peters said that user behavior differs between countries. He also noted that password sharing may not always be intended to be nefarious, but is viewed as a show of affection and loyalty between some people.

This, in some ways, is reminiscent of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs' view of piracy. In the early days of iTunes, Jobs insisted that most people weren't purposely trying to break the law by downloading music from services like Napster. Instead, they were just looking for an expedient way to get the songs and albums they loved.

Netflix's view, similarly, sounds like the company would rather work to come up with a solution that will prove good enough to make users pay up their own hard-earned money, rather than demonizing potential customers.

Striking the Right Balance

It is a tough balance to get right for a company like Netflix---and there's no doubt that it loses potential revenue through the practice of password sharing. According to Citibank analyst Jason Bazinet, Netflix loses around $6 billion per year by not stopping this practice.

But it's also got everything to lose from potentially upsetting large numbers of users, and risking driving them away from the platform. Especially not at a time when there are more rival streaming services than ever for them to check out.