On May 23, Netflix revoked the popular password-sharing option from its platform in the United States. Netflix subscribers who engage in sharing passwords can expect an email from the American media company, informing them that they can only share accounts with persons in their household. On Tuesday, Netflix said it began contacting customers about its new sharing policy.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” said the email on the company's blog.
It advised users to check accounts employing their subscription for free and ensure they remove or sign out from such accounts. The email went on to say that members can transfer a profile of someone who is not a member of their household so that the person can start a new membership on their own. Alternatively, customers can pay an additional $7.99 monthly for extra members outside their family who use their account.
The extra members can access the same subscription while residing outside the primary household, just like they used to. Users can keep downloaded media and only stream on one device at a time. This option is accessible only for fully paid plans and is not supported on ad-supported ones. The $10 basic plan will also not function because it is limited to a single stream. Netflix subscription plans page notes that extra members can be added to its standard and premium plans without ads.
Netflix warned that it might tighten its password-sharing policies to raise income and subscriptions, shortly after the company's growth slowed. Netflix says that it hasn't seen a large exodus of subscribers upset by the changes, and instead has claimed that subscription rate has grown in markets where the crackdown has already begun. Having said that, Netflix has to wait to see how US audiences react to this decision in the coming days and weeks.
Netflix had initially planned to implement its crackdown on those who borrow other people's accounts to create their profiles late in the first quarter but informed investors and customers last month during an earnings call that the move would be delayed until the second quarter.
Netflix issued password-sharing guidelines in four additional countries earlier this year: New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, and Spain. Netflix said that subscribers in such countries should designate a 'main location' for their accounts and allow them to set up two sub-accounts for individuals who do not live in their home base for an additional charge.