Everything you need to know about how Netflix will crack down on password ... trends now

Netflix has caused panic among its users over the last few weeks, having announced a crackdown on password sharing. 

How and when this will work remained largely unclear, until the tech giant briefly posted key details on its website this week.

Eagle-eyed users spotted details on the US and UK help pages, although these were swiftly removed. 

They suggest that users will have to connect to Wi-Fi at their primary location, open the Netflix app or website, and watch something at least once every 31 days. 

This could cause issues for users who no longer live with, or even nearby, the primary account holder.  

While the details have been removed from the US and UK pages, they remain on the FAQ pages for Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.

Each Netflix account is linked to a single 'Netflix Household' - the home and Wi-Fi network of the bill payer - and anyone who lives there can log in to it using any device. 

But the new guidelines say that the account must be logged into by a device in the Netflix Household every 31 days to turn it into a 'trusted device'.

A trusted device can be used to watch Netflix even when away from the home Wi-Fi network. 

Devices which log in to the account away from the Netflix Household and have not done so in the past month 'may be blocked from watching Netflix'.

If you go travelling, you can request a four digit code to be sent to the bill payer, and when that is entered you will be able to continue watching.

These details of how password policing will work were meant to just be guidelines for trials in the three South American countries.

However, they were accidentally shared publicly to other countries on Wednesday.

They have now been deleted from the FAQ pages of countries other than Chile, Peru and Costa Rica.

The details now listed on the Help Centre pages for other countries, including the UK, say the verification process is slightly different. 

They say that if an account is signed into or used persistently outside of the primary household, the account holder will be asked to 'verify' the device it was used on.

To do this, Netflix will send a link by email or or text, which opens a web page showing a four digit code.

This code needs to be entered using the new device within 15 minutes before it expires, and the other user is left locked out of the account.

Netflix can tell when a new device is using an account by its IP address and device ID, as well as by what the user is watching.

The streaming giant says that it will not 'automatically charge' the account holder if their account is logged into outside their household.

It adds that verification will only be requested when the account is used away from the Netflix Household for an 'extended period of time'.

This means that subscribers should not need to worry if they go on a short holiday, but they will need to request to change the Netflix Household if they move house.

Netflix currently has different price plans which each allow a different number of devices connected to the home internet to use a single account.

'Basic' and 'Basic with adverts' - priced at £6.99 and £4.99 per month respectively, allow for only one device in the Netflix Household to be logged in.

A 'Standard' plan, which costs £10.99 a month, allows for two devices to log in, while the £15.99-per-month 'Premium' plan allows for three.

But, last month, a Netflix earnings report revealed plans to roll-out a 'paid sharing' option.