Netflix has begun its crackdown to stop password sharing, starting in the United States
The streaming video company said it has started sending out emails to all US subscribers who share passwords with people outside their households.
“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices.”
To share an account with someone outside a household, a user is advised to transfer a profile to a new membership that they pay for or else add an extra member to their account for an additional $7.99 monthly fee.
On Netflix’s subscription plans page, it notes that extra members can be added to its standard and premium plans without ads.
Password sharing has always been a thing amongst Netflix users, but the company seemingly chose to ignore it in order to further grow its popularity. However, last year it said that it was going to stop password sharing because it was limiting its profits.
Netflix has previously estimated that over 100 million households worldwide share an account, which is about 43% of its global user base, which it said has affected its ability to invest in new content.
Netflix also started to clamp down on password sharing in several other countries earlier this year, including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. Netflix said it would ask members in those countries to set a “primary location” for their accounts, and allow users to establish two sub-accounts for those who don’t live in their home base for extra fees.
The video streaming giant had reported that since it started stopping password sharing, it has seen a drop in active users which it referred to as a “cancel reaction”, however, it has seen an increase in new user acquisition and revenue.”
