The End of Netflix Password Sharing Is Here, and It’s Going to Cost You
Netflix has started alerting its US subscribers that their password-sharing days are now over. This week, the onlinepany sent an email warning “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household.” You can see the email here.
If you’re currently sharing your password with someone outside your household, you can now transfer their profile to them so that they can pay for their own membership without having to start a new profile. You can also opt to keep additional viewers on your account for an extra monthly fee of $7.99 per person.
Why is Netflix establishing a password-sharing ban?
With an estimated 2.1 million people currently sharing passwords, the onlinepany reports that this practice is affecting its ability to invest in new content. Netflix has already ended password-sharing in New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, and Spain with mixed results.
In Canada, after a wave of initial cancellations, many subscribers eventually opted to add “extra member” accounts. Recently, Netflix reported that the number of paying subscribers in Canada is higher than before, and they’re hoping for a similar outonlinee in the US.
But the password-sharing ban is just one of the many unpopular decisions that Netflix has recently made to bolster its bottom line. This could be the last straw for many subscribers who are already unhappy with recent price increases, disappointing content, and a challenging user experience.
In Spain, Netflix lost more than a million users after cracking down on password sharing in February, and a similar wave of cancellations could occur in the US.
How does Netflix know if you’re password sharing?
When the account owner signs into their Netflix account, they will be asked to set their primary location. Netflix will then use device IDs, IP addresses, and account activity to determine who shares a household. This isn’t always easy to determine, as evidenced by issues in other countries where the password-sharing ban has already taken effect.
Now, US subscribers are concerned about situations that may be misidentified as password sharing, like children who split time between parents living separately, families with children in college, long-distance couples, etc.
See who’s using your Netflix account, and prepare to let them go or pay $8/month for each one. Here’s how:
- Log into your account.
- Tap on your profile icon in the upper right-hand corner.
- Tap on Account.
- Scroll down to Security and Privacy and choose Manage Access and Devices.
- There, you can see the most recent devices active on your account.
We’d love to know what you plan to do if your Netflix account is affected by the new restrictions on password sharing. Will you change your password and drop your extra viewers from your account, add them for $7.99 per month, or cancel your Netflix subscription altogether? 🤔
Frustrated with Netflix? Try Hulu for just $2 a month!
