The Netflix login page displayed on a laptop screen and the Netflix logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland, January 2, 2023.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
netflixPassword Sharing Crackdown Has Arrived in the US
The streaming service said it began alerting its members on Tuesday to its new sharing policy, noting that Netflix accounts should only be shared within the same household.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your home,” the company said in an email it posted to its blog on Tuesday.
The email goes on to say that members can transfer the profile of someone outside their household so that person can start a new membership that they pay for themselves. Or they can pay an additional fee – $7.99 per month – per person outside their household using their account.
On Netflix’s subscription plans page, it notes that additional members can be added to its standard and premium plans ad-free.
Netflix warned it would tighten its password-sharing guidelines in a bid to boost revenue and subscriber numbers, soon after the company began to see stagnant growth.
How much do Netflix packages cost
Here’s how Netflix prices its tiers in the US:
- Standard ad medium (2 devices at a time): $6.99/month
- Basic (1 device at a time): $9.99/month
- Standard (2 devices at a time): $15.49/month
- Premium (4 devices at once): $19.99/month
Netflix was originally set to roll out its crackdown on people who borrow other accounts to create their own profiles at the end of the first quarter, but alerted investors and customers during an earnings call last month that he was pushing it to the second trimester.
The company said more than 100 million households share accounts, or about 43% of its global user base. Because of this, Netflix said it has affected its ability to invest in new content.
Earlier this year, Netflix rolled out guidance on sharing passwords in four more countries: New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, and Spain. Netflix said it will require members in those countries to set a “primary location” for their accounts and allow users to create two sub-accounts for those who don’t live in their home for an additional fee.
Learn more: Netflix’s expected crackdown on password sharing puts students on edge
In Tuesday’s notice, the company did not provide those details for US households, and instead gave the two options of transferring a profile or paying a fee for an additional member.
The company said it saw subscriber growth impacted internationally where it had already rolled out such initiatives in the first quarter. But Netflix still managed to add 1.75 million customers during the quarter.
In Latin America, Netflix executives said they saw cancellations after the news broke, hurting near-term growth. But, these password borrowers would later activate their own accounts and add existing members as “additional member” accounts. As a result, the company recorded more revenue, they said.
Netflix executives have compared the transition from paid sharing to that of price increases: People balk and cancel at first, then slowly come back and sign up for their own accounts.
In addition to its crackdown on password sharing, Netflix also recently introduced a cheaper, ad-supported tier in an effort to boost revenue. Both moves came shortly after Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in more than a decade in early 2022.
Media companies across the board have been looking for ways to make their streaming games profitable, relying on methods like cutting content costs, advertising, and finding other ways to attract more customers. on their platforms.
Tuesday, Discovery of Warner Bros. relaunched its streaming service as Max, which is a combination of its HBO Max and Discovery+ services.
World Paramount also announced this week that its combined Paramount+ app with Showtime will be available in late June. disney also recently announced that it is adding Hulu content to Disney+.