I had this happen to me yesterday. I immediately deleted the account it created (I already had one under a different email address). I sent very negative feedback to IMDB about it, they emailed me back today with a pretty generic response.
To me, this crosses a major line. I don't feel I can trust any site Amazon owns going forward. Any accounts I have currently with this (including my preexisting IMDB account) I now plan to delete, and avoid like the plague so I avoid having more accounts created without my consent. I think people need to react very negatively to this, as it sets a horrible precedent. Imagine every site that currently pops up with "Sign-in with Google" just taking it upon themselves to proactively create an account for simply visiting the page.
I found this help article that explains they're doing it. This doesn't make it better, it just shows it isn't a mistake. Someone made this decision, it was supported internally, and implemented.
To defend against enshittification. Why would I use a big tech controlled resource when avoidable? If I avoid consuming or building on imdb in this context, I avoid inevitable platform decay. Investing in and leveraging public goods > eventual rug pull. Try to avoid the rug pull, when efficient to do so.
I had this happen to me yesterday. I immediately deleted the account it created (I already had one under a different email address). I sent very negative feedback to IMDB about it, they emailed me back today with a pretty generic response.
To me, this crosses a major line. I don't feel I can trust any site Amazon owns going forward. Any accounts I have currently with this (including my preexisting IMDB account) I now plan to delete, and avoid like the plague so I avoid having more accounts created without my consent. I think people need to react very negatively to this, as it sets a horrible precedent. Imagine every site that currently pops up with "Sign-in with Google" just taking it upon themselves to proactively create an account for simply visiting the page.
I found this help article that explains they're doing it. This doesn't make it better, it just shows it isn't a mistake. Someone made this decision, it was supported internally, and implemented.
https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/general-information/imdb-...
Are they really sharing anything without your consent though? IMDB is part of Amazon.
Perhaps related to a recent change, where you now must be logged in to IMDB.com in order to view the User Reviews for movies.
Amazon has been an absolutely terrible custodian of IMDb. I am still nostalgic about user forums...
Are there any open alternatives to IMDB?
There's TMDb
https://www.themoviedb.org/
+1 for TMDB. A breath of fresh air in comparison, simple but elegant. Also has a comprehensive API.
Why do you need an open alternative?
To defend against enshittification. Why would I use a big tech controlled resource when avoidable? If I avoid consuming or building on imdb in this context, I avoid inevitable platform decay. Investing in and leveraging public goods > eventual rug pull. Try to avoid the rug pull, when efficient to do so.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/the-age-of... | https://archive.is/Pn0tm
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/10/cory_doctorow