Password-Sharing on Netflix Will Soon Be History
Early next year, Netflix will begin charging accounts for password sharing, implementing a system that adds fees to your plan for “extra member” subaccounts when others outside of your family use your subscription.
When confirming the proposal on Tuesday, the corporation did not provide details about the cost of these additional expenses. However, this plan is already being trialed in a few Latin American countries, and the premium for each additional member is equivalent to around a fourth of the cost of a “standard” Netflix package.
Assuming Netflix maintains this pricing structure, an additional US member subaccount would set you back between $3.50 and $4 a month.
As a result of the steepest subscriber declines in company history earlier this year, Netflix, which had previously been lenient toward password sharing, began experimenting with ways to make shared accounts pay. In addition to the fines for sharing passwords, Netflix will soon be releasing ad-supported, lower-priced subscriptions.
Due to Netflix’s unrivaled market share and consistent year-over-year subscriber growth, practically all of Hollywood’s big media conglomerates have invested billions of dollars in their own streaming businesses. Many new streaming services have emerged as a result of the so-called “streaming wars,” including Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock, and Paramount Plus.
Netflix, feeling the pressure of rising competition for your time and money, is turning to tactics it had previously rejected.
Based on the results of a six-month trial run in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, it seems likely that Netflix will implement a price system for password sharing similar to the one it has been testing there.
On Monday, Netflix announced the release of its profile transfer tool, an integral part of the password-sharing fees trialed in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. With this function, a profile made on a family plan can move its viewing habits and personalized suggestions to a standalone Netflix membership. Someone else’s Standard or Premium subscription plan can be upgraded to include this new user.
Argentine, Dominican, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were among the countries Netflix planned to try out a new strategy in back in July. The “home” of a membership was determined to be the principal residence of the account holder. Netflix accounts will be charged for additional “homes,” if they are used for streaming for longer than two weeks, with a cap on the number of homes that can be added based on the subscriber’s current Netflix plan. This seems to be the model Netflix is abandoning in favor of the other one it tried.
