TV Licencing in shared student houses

[henzteeth]

DS is in a student house-share and none of them watch much TV. If they do watch, it's likely to be on a streaming service such as Netflix. They haven't bought a tv licence. On the very rare occasions when they do want to watch something live or on iplayer they are aware of a loophole (in screenshot) that they understand allows them to watch live tv on unplugged devices (under the protection of their parents' home licenses). Have any of your student children succesfully relied on this loophole when the licence folk come knocking?

This link suggests the bbc can trace viewing habits via IP addresses: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6201498/tv-licensing-spying-on-home-internet-usage, but I doubt they could tell whether a device is plugged into the wall or not, could they?

They are correct that by watching on an unplugged mobile device that they may do so on the basis that they have licence coverage under another address

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1

On a technical basis iPlayer watching can be traced to the logged in email address and to the IP address. The allocation of the IP address could subsequently be traced to an account via the provider - which would require a court order etc
It’s unlikely that power status is known by iPlayer, but it can check for the connection status of WiFi or mobile data - such as to warn when you choose to download a programme on mobile data that it could affect your mobile data allowance

A letter stating that ‘we know you have been watching’ could be related to the iPlayer account details (which has a postcode but not full address)

For the matter of remaining legal when viewing then they should charge then unplug before watching, but it’s unlikely that anyone would know. If someone knocks on the door regarding watching TV, then they keep to the fact that they already know that any viewing is unplugged on the basis of being covered by the licence at their home address

They should just ignore it. The licence people won't come knocking. I've never had a tv licence and don't plan on it either.

Thanks for the replies. I also found this online, which is reassuring: https://www.savethestudent.org/news/tv-licensing-loophole-revealed-students-dont-need-a-licence-to-watch-iplayer-after-all.html