Netflix has announced its crackdown on password-sharing and the corresponding costs involved. The company has disclosed the impact of this initiative on viewers in the US, as well as the fees associated with accommodating additional users on a shared account.
For those subscribed to the Netflix Standard plan priced at $15.49 per month, there is an option to include one extra member who can access the service from outside the household for an additional monthly charge of $7.99. Subscribers of the Netflix Premium package, which offers 4K streaming, can add up to two extra members, with each member incurring an additional cost of $7.99. This new policy is not limited to the US, as Netflix in the UK will charge 4.99 per month for each extra member slot.
However, Netflix subscribers on the Basic or Standard plan with Ads, costing $9.99 and $6.99 per month respectively, do not have the option to add extra members to their account.
Also see: What to Watch on Netflix?
Starting Tuesday, Netflix users in the US who share the service outside their household will receive an email informing them about the company’s password-sharing policies, as stated in a blog post.
Netflix has been conducting paid password-sharing experiments, expanding them to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain in February. Originally scheduled to be implemented in the US at the beginning of the year, the launch of the password-sharing crackdown was postponed until April.
According to a support page outlining the new arrangement, “extra members” are individuals who will have their own password and profile, paid for by the person who invited them to join. These additional member accounts have certain limitations: they must be activated in the same country, can only stream or download content on one device at a time, and are not allowed to create extra profiles or access the Kids profile.
Netflix determines the household based on where the service is watched on a TV and the associated IP address of that device. The location can be reset using the app on a TV or a device connected to a TV by confirming or updating the household and responding to a verification link sent to the account’s registered email address or phone number.
Netflix:
We use information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity to determine whether a device signed into your account is part of your Netflix Household.
We do not collect GPS data to try to determine the precise physical location of your devices.
If a Netflix Household hasnt been set, we will automatically set one for you based on IP address, device IDs, and account activity.
You can always update your Netflix Household from a TV by connecting to your internet and following the steps above.
Netflix has undergone a significant shift in its stance on password sharing. Previously, the company embraced the practice, even tweeting a famous message in March 2017 that promoted sharing passwords as an act of love. However, in early 2022, Netflix began testing methods to discourage password sharing and encourage users to pay for their own accounts when accessing Netflix outside of the account owner’s household.
In April 2022, Netflix reported its first decline in subscribers in over a decade and attributed it, in part, to the widespread prevalence of password sharing. At that time, it was estimated that more than 100 million households were accessing Netflix through shared passwords.
In an effort to reverse this subscriber decline, Netflix has implemented various strategies. Cracking down on password sharing is just one of the many approaches the company has taken. Additionally, it introduced an advertising plan that has garnered nearly 5 million active users globally, and it has made significant investments in gaming as an additional benefit for subscribers.