Netflix cracks down on password sharing by charging for additional users

After years of apparently turning a blind eye to password sharing, Netflix is working on limiting users sharing their passwords. The streaming giant issued a press release stating that subscribers will now pay to share Netflix outside their households.

According to Chengyi Long, Director of Product Innovation, the sharing of accounts between households is impacting Netflix’s ability to invest in great new TV and films.

The streaming giant says it has been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more. Over the next few weeks, it will be launching and testing two new features for its members in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru :

• Addition of up to 2 new subscribers at a lower price: 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru. Members on the Standard and Premium plans will be able to add sub accounts for up to two people they don’t live with – each with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password
• Transfer of a profile to a new account. Members on the Basic, Standard, and Premium plans can enable people who share their account to transfer profile information either to a new account or an Extra Member sub account – keeping the viewing history, My List, and personalized recommendations.

I guess this is also one way Netflix could address its declining subscriber numbers. I mean, why pay as a new subscriber when I can get my friend’s password and use it without paying.

During the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Netflix recorded massive gains in its net paid subscriber numbers but this took a hit in 2021. Comparing 8.24 million in Q4 2020 to 8.28 million in Q4 2021, it is obvious there is a steady decline.

Though Squid Game “helped Netflix reboot subscriber growth” in Q3 2021, the impact was temporary and Q4 fell back into the steady decline trend.

The entrance and rise of other streaming platforms like Disney+ and Amazon prime has also adversely affected the fortunes of Netflix.

WSJ remarks that Netflix’s rivals, including AT&T Inc.’s HBO Max and Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+, often email their customers when they notice multiple logins from various locations, according to people familiar with the companies’ policies. The emails usually say that the service wants to ensure the user’s account wasn’t hacked, the people said. But they also serve as a gentle reminder to customers that companies know when more than one person is using the account, industry experts said.

It is exactly clear what the impact of these new initiatives would be but we will continue to watch this space as it rolls out these features in the Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru