The streaming service started experimenting with password-sharing solutions in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica, prompting subscribers in these markets to spend an additional fee to allow streaming for others outside their household who operate the same account.
Netflix’s test to interpret password sharing has reportedly confused some users. When talking to over a dozen Netflix subscribers in Peru, most users weren’t formally created aware of the policy change through an email or notification sent by Netflix — not even two months out from Netflix’s initial announcement.
The outlet also learned that Netflix’s level of enforcement varied from user to user, with some users on shared accounts reporting that they ignored validation prompts without any penalty to the account owner. Conversely, another user told the Rest of the World that they never got word of a policy shift and continued to share their account without a problem.
There’s also confusion surrounding Netflix’s definition of a “household,” and it seems like Netflix is aware of that ambiguity. For example, an anonymous customer support representative in Peru reportedly said she’d been asked to deliver verification codes to subscribers who call in about having somebody within their household utilizing their account from another location. It allows members outside a subscriber’s home to continue using the shared account for free.
“While we started working on paid sharing over 18 months ago, we have been clear for five years that ‘A Netflix account is for people who live together in a single household. The millions of members actively sharing an account in these countries have been notified by email. Still, given the importance of this change, we are ramping up in-product notifications more slowly. We’re pleased with the response to date.”
The cost for an additional account is less than signing up for a separate new account (which is supposed to make it seem more like a deal and less like a way for Netflix to eke out a little more subscriber growth). For example, Netflix charges an extra 2,380 CLP (USD 2.89) in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN (USD 2.13) in Peru to add up to two users located outside an account holder’s household.
A crackdown on password sharing was imminent after Netflix reported losing subscribers for the first time in over a decade in its most current earnings report. However, it still has 74.58 million subscribers in the US and Canada and 222 million globally. As a result, the business is set to undergo quite a few shifts as it attempts to find new subscribers — and struggles to hold onto the ones it has in the face of growing competition.
Netflix execs reportedly told employees the company would introduce a cheaper, ad-supported plan within the year, offering a more affordable way to stay in the fold after long-term subscribers have seen almost yearly price hikes. It’s also exploring live streaming to compete with the ever-growing Disney Plus.
Netflix, Inc. is an American production company and subscription streaming service. Launched on August 29, 1997, it shows a film and television series library through distribution deals and productions, comprehended as Netflix Originals.
Netflix had 221.6 million subscribers worldwide as of March 31, 2022, including 74.0 million in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, 74.6 million in the United States and Canada, 39.9M in Latin America, and 32.7M in Asia-Pacific. It is available globally aside from Mainland China, Russia, Syria, and North Korea. Netflix has played a significant role in independent film distribution, and it is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
Netflix can be accessed thru the internet browser on computers or thru application software installed on smart TVs, set-top boxes connected to televisions, smartphones, digital media players, tablet computers, video game consoles, Blu-ray Disc players, and virtual reality headsets on the inventory of Netflix-compatible devices. It is available in 4K resolution. In the United States, the company furnishes DVD and Blu-ray rentals delivered individually via the United States Postal Service from regional warehouses.
Netflix was launched on the previous date by Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings in Scotts Valley, California. Netflix initially marketed and rented DVDs by mail, but the sales were paused to focus on the DVD rental business within a year.
In 2007, Netflix familiarized streaming media and video on demand. The company inflated to Canada in 2010, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean. Netflix got into the content-production industry in 2013, debuting its first series House of Cards. In January 2016, it grew to an additional 130 countries and then operated in 190 nations.