Netflix Cracks Down on Password Sharing, Introduces Additional Charges for Multiple Users

25. 05. 2023 | Kristýna Bezděková

Netflix began disconnecting “stowaways” who used shared passwords. For a long time, the company tolerated the practice, but has now turned around. Users will be able to pay for an additional person within the account. Streaming platform Netflix has warned for almost a year that it will crack down on users who share their login credentials with others. Although it violates the rules users signed up to, the company has long tolerated the practice – helping it expand its reach.

But it was also losing money. In a time of rapid client growth, it didn’t matter, but now Netflix is facing the opposite trend, and the tolerance is over. Netflix said that more than 100 million users share their accounts, “impacting our ability to invest in great new TV shows and movies.” The changes affect more than 100 countries around the world, including the Czech Republic. But now it’s the turn of the US and the UK. There, Netflix has already started filling the email inboxes of clients it suspects of sharing passwords with people who live at a different address.

“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with – your household,” the company said in an email. People who try to share an account now will get an update when they try to log in, advising them how to set up their own account.
For accounts on the Standard and Premium plans, there will now be an additional charge for account sharing. Extra access to Netflix will cost £79 per person. Only one extra person will be allowed for Standard and two for Premium. The condition is that they must be over 18 and will only be able to log in on one device. The quality will match the “parent” version of the tariff.

The changes that have taken place were introduced by Netflix in some countries earlier. In Canada, for example, the company says the base of paying users is larger than before the changes. In Spain, on the other hand, Netflix lost more than a million subscribers in the first three months. “This account sharing initiative helps us have a larger base of potential paying members and grow Netflix in the long term,” announced Ted Sarandos, one of the CEOs, in an interview about the results.

In the past year, Netflix has experienced a big drop in its stock price. It has also faced increasing competition that has made it less of a clear market leader.

Streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix and Apple Tv Plus have raised their prices and not many people can afford to use most of these services at once anymore. Netflix, however, has come up with a new subscription option. It would be cheaper, but with advertising. But this option does not apply to the Czech Republic yet.

Netflix announced in April that it reached 232.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of this year. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, it reported revenues of $31.9 billion and made a profit of $4.5 billion.

 

Source, photo: netflix.com

Author of this article

Kristýna Bezděková

Kristýna is a student of marketing and communication in an undergraduate program. She writes and translates content into the Czech language

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