It was discovered recently that the Netflix app was being listed as “incompatible” on the Google Play Store for those trying to access it through a rooted or unlocked Android smartphone. The app itself was working fine but those who didn’t already have it on their rooted or unlocked device couldn’t download it from the Google Play Store. Netflix has now confirmed that it’s intentionally blocking rooted and unlocked Android devices from downloading its app.
It a statement provided to AndroidPolice, Netflix has confirmed that it’s intentionally blocking unlocked and rooted Android devices from downloading its app from the Google Play Store.
“With our latest 5.0 release, we now fully rely on the Widevine DRM provided by Google; therefore, many devices that are not Google-certified or have been altered will no longer work with our latest app and those users will no longer see the Netflix app in the Play Store,” it explains.
It’s interesting to note that the app itself continues to work just fine on unlocked and rooted smartphones. Netflix appears to have only barred those device owners from downloading the app from the Google Play Store. Whether or not it will make the app useless for them at some point in time remains to be seen.