What Personal Information Did Netflix Allegedly Collect From Subscribers?

When people think about personal information, they often picture obvious identifiers such as a name, email address, home address, or credit card number.

Modern digital services can generate another category of information simply through everyday use. Every search, click, pause, device connection, viewing selection, and interaction with an application can potentially generate data. When those individual events are connected over time, they may reveal considerably more about a consumer than any single data point would on its own.

That kind of behavioral information is central to lawsuits filed against Netflix by the Attorneys General of Texas and Florida.

Texas alleges Netflix collected extensive information about subscribers’ viewing habits, preferences, devices, household networks, application usage, and other behavioral events without adequately informing consumers about the scope or use of that information.

Florida filed a separate complaint in September 2026 alleging that Netflix collected similarly detailed information while marketing its paid subscription service as an alternative to surveillance-driven advertising. Florida further alleges the company later commercialized its behavioral-data infrastructure as it built its own advertising business.

Netflix denies the state’s allegations and says it takes subscriber privacy seriously. Many others aren’t so sure.

Viewing Habits and Preferences

At its most basic level, Netflix necessarily knows something about what subscribers watch in order to operate features such as viewing history, Continue Watching, and personalized recommendations.

Netflix itself provides users with access to certain viewing history and content-interaction information. Texas claims the underlying behavioral collection goes much further.

According to the complaint, Netflix has allegedly collected information concerning what users select, avoid, replay, skip, search for, browse, and abandon, along with how long users interact with particular content.

Florida likewise alleges Netflix gathered detailed information about viewing choices and playback behavior, including what subscribers watched, paused, rewound, searched for, skipped, and abandoned.

Those activities can potentially reveal viewing preferences at a level of detail that a simple list of watched programs would not.

Device Information

Netflix can be used on televisions, phones, tablets, computers, streaming boxes, gaming consoles, and numerous other connected devices.

Netflix acknowledges maintaining access and device information for accounts, including details about recently active signed-in devices. The Texas lawsuit alleges Netflix’s broader systems gathered device information as part of its behavioral tracking infrastructure.

Florida’s complaint also identifies device information as part of the data Netflix allegedly collected. Florida’s theory focuses in part on how that information, combined with viewing and other behavioral signals, allegedly became commercially useful within Netflix’s later advertising operation.

Device information can help a service answer operational questions, such as whether someone is watching on a television or phone and whether an application is functioning properly. Depending on what is collected and how identifiers are connected, device information may also help associate activity across different screens.

That possibility is particularly important when discussing household-level advertising and behavioral profiling.

Household Network Information

The Texas complaint also focuses on information relating to household networks. According to the lawsuit, Netflix eventually disclosed that it obtained certain information concerning devices on a user’s Wi-Fi network. Texas alleges Netflix did not adequately explain the extent to which device and household information could be used to associate activity occurring across a household.

Florida similarly alleges Netflix collected information that could help connect behavioral activity with particular devices and households.

Household-network information generally refers to information that can indicate devices are connected through the same home network or otherwise associated with the same household.

This does not necessarily mean a company knows who personally owns every connected device. However, linking devices at a household level may allow activity from different screens or profiles to be analyzed together.

The Texas lawsuit describes this concept as part of what it calls cross-device or household “stitching.”

Application Usage and Behavioral Events

The lawsuit also alleges Netflix logs how consumers use the application itself. That may include activities such as clicking, scrolling, browsing, typing search terms, pausing playback, replaying content, and spending time within different areas of the platform.

Florida’s complaint similarly alleges extensive logging of viewing and application behavior. The Florida Attorney General alleges this collection formed part of a larger behavioral-data infrastructure that Netflix eventually used to help develop and operate its advertising business.

From a technical perspective, many digital platforms monitor application events to understand performance and improve their products.

The consumer-protection questions arise from the scope of that information, how long it is retained, what other data it is connected with, the purposes for which it is used, and what consumers were told about those practices.

Texas alleges Netflix did not sufficiently disclose the granularity of its behavioral logging or how information supported advertising-related activities.

A Detailed Picture Can Emerge From Small Data Points

Imagine a subscriber who searches for several similar documentaries, watches three of them, replays portions of one, quickly abandons another, routinely watches late at night on a television, and occasionally searches from a phone during the day.

Each event standing alone may have little significance. Taken together, those events describe patterns.

Over weeks, months, or years, enough behavioral information can potentially reveal recurring interests, habits, content preferences, device usage, and household routines.

Texas alleges Netflix built systems capable of collecting behavioral events at enormous scale and then used parts of that data infrastructure in connection with its advertising business.

Florida alleges a similar progression but places particular emphasis on commercialization. According to Florida, Netflix accumulated detailed subscriber data under an ad-free subscription model and then used that existing behavioral-data infrastructure after launching advertising in November 2022.

Florida also identifies a range of alleged advertising and data relationships, including LiveRamp, Experian, Acxiom, Google Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, Yahoo DSP, Amazon DSP, and direct advertiser integrations.

What Subscribers Can Do

Netflix allows members to review certain account data, including viewing activity, device access, profile information, billing details, and privacy settings.

Florida’s complaint also makes a Florida-specific allegation about privacy controls. The state alleges Netflix provides California account holders with an account-level control for certain behavioral-data settings while requiring Florida users to manage comparable settings on a profile-by-profile basis. That allegation is specific to Florida’s complaint and is not simply copied from the Texas case.

Subscribers concerned about the current allegations may want to preserve relevant account information and determine when their membership began.

Morgan & Morgan is investigating potential claims involving Netflix subscribers. If you believe your personal or behavioral information may have been collected or used without appropriate disclosure or consent, contact Morgan & Morgan for a free case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What information did Netflix allegedly collect?

The Texas and Florida Attorneys General allege Netflix collected extensive behavioral information about subscribers. Alleged categories include viewing habits and preferences, searches, playback interactions, device information, household-network information, application usage, location-related information, and other events generated while consumers used the platform.

The complaints emphasize the potential combined effect of those data points. A record of one movie selection may reveal little, but a much larger record describing searches, browsing, playback behavior, devices, and repeated usage may provide a more detailed picture.

Does Netflix collect information about the devices subscribers use?

Netflix says it maintains device and access information associated with subscriber accounts.

Both state complaints discuss device information as part of the broader data allegedly collected about subscribers. Florida additionally connects that data collection to its allegations that Netflix later commercialized subscriber information through its advertising operation.

Device information may be used for legitimate functions such as account security, troubleshooting, content delivery, and recognizing an authorized device. The allegations concern whether Netflix also used device relationships for additional behavioral and advertising-related purposes beyond what consumers reasonably understood.

What is household network data?

Household-network data generally refers to information about devices or activity associated with the same internet connection, Wi-Fi network, residence, or household.

For example, a household might use Netflix on a smart television, two phones, a tablet, and a streaming device. Depending on the information collected, a digital service may be able to determine that multiple devices are connected through or associated with the same household.

Texas and Florida both allege Netflix gathered information capable of contributing to household-level behavioral analysis.

Does Netflix track application usage?

Both the Texas and Florida Attorneys General allege Netflix collected information about how subscribers interacted with the platform, including detailed viewing and application activity.

Application-usage information can have legitimate operational purposes. Companies commonly analyze usage to troubleshoot technical problems, improve interfaces, understand which features work, and personalize services.

Privacy concerns can emerge when those events are retained at a highly granular level, connected with other identifiers, or used for additional purposes consumers may not have expected.

What can behavioral data reveal about a subscriber?

The answer depends on the amount and type of information collected. One viewing selection might reveal almost nothing beyond a momentary entertainment choice. A long history of searches, viewing selections, pauses, rewatches, skipped content, device usage, times of day, and related activity may reveal recurring patterns.

Those patterns can potentially help predict what content a subscriber is likely to watch, what categories interest the subscriber, how frequently the service is used, what devices are preferred, and how different members of a household interact with the platform.

Consumers concerned about their own information can review Netflix’s available privacy tools and may also contact Morgan & Morgan to discuss whether their subscription history may be relevant to the firm’s investigation.