how is netflix enforcing password sharing
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
how is netflix enforcing password sharing
After years of finding other ways, Netflix has finally begun cracking down on password-sharers in the United States. Here's what to expect.
1.
Netflix doesn't always have problems with subscribers sharing their passwords. As recently as 2016, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called this "a positive thing" because many password-sharing people ended up having their own accounts. Apparently, Hastings doesn't really encourage password sharing, but he doesn't seem to care about the crackdown either, noting that account sharing "isn't really the point."
Hastings' comments in 2016 came, of course, against the backdrop of Netflix's explosive subscriber growth rate. By early 2022, that growth had stalled, with Netflix reporting that its subscriber base had shrunk for the first time in a decade. The company says password sharing is part of the cause.
While Netflix hasn't quantified how much revenue it could lose from sharing passwords, a Los Angeles Times report estimates the practice could cost consumers up to 9.1 billion dollars. USD. 12.5 dollars. billion by 2024.
The streaming landscape has also changed dramatically in recent years. Back in 2016, Hastings could have been more relaxed about sharing passwords, as the streamer faced little serious competition. Today, it faces Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+.
While all the big players are fighting to the teeth to win new subscribers, streamers like Netflix are no longer offering free tickets to password-sharers.
2.
According to the Netflix Help Center, you can only share your Netflix account with people who "live in the same house".
You can also use the same Netflix account while traveling or between different homes. For example, if you're staying in your summer cottage (you're lucky!), you can also sign in to your Netflix account. as at your usual place of residence.
But if you share your Netflix password - and therefore your account - with someone who doesn't live with you without paying extra, that's prohibited, and that's clearly stated in the terms use Netflix.
It's now clear how Netflix will handle people sharing passwords, specifically a combination of requiring users to verify their accounts plus options for password owner accounts to transfer free downloaders to their own account (paid account) or pay extra to share their account with others outside family.
Here's some more information, taken directly from Netflix's Q3 2022 report:
After listening to consumer feedback, we'll offer borrowers the option to switch Netflix profile to their own account and let the sharer easily manage more of their profile device and create a secondary account ("additional membership"), if they want to pay family or friends.
For the bar, it's likely Netflix will start blocking streams from password-sharers who can't verify their accounts or aren't streaming with a paid subscriber's sub-account.
6.
Effective immediately, Netflix has announced that it will begin emailing users in the United States who share their accounts with people outside of their household. The email details how you can transfer your profile to your new account, as well as payment options for sharing your account.
When emails no longer warn users not to share their Netflix accounts without paying extra, it's clear that the Netflix password-sharing crackdown has officially begun. The move follows a growing series of password-sharing experiments that began in 2021, when streamers began asking users to verify their Netflix account with a four-digit code sent. to the account holder. The "check out later" option allows users to continue streaming even if they don't have the code, but the test certainly wowed some.
In March 2022, Netflix's efforts to prevent password sharing became more formal, with the company announcing an option for account holders in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru to create " sub-accounts" with reduced rates for up to two people outside of their household. .
Four months later, Netflix took a different approach, rolling out an "Add a Home" feature that allows Netflix subscribers in five Latin American countries to "buy" more homes that they or others other people can use the same Netflix account.
And during its third-quarter earnings call in October 2022, Netflix confirmed that it will start charging account sharers from "early 2023".
Netflix then announced a new "Profile Transfer" tool that allows password sharers to easily transfer all of their Netflix profile data, including watchlists, history, and recommendations. to a new account.
More recently, Netflix rolled out account sharing features in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and (currently) the United States.
7.
Netflix has finally revealed how much it will charge US users to share their accounts: $7.99 per month for each “additional membership”.
Account sharing prices vary in other regions. For example, in Canada, Premium and Standard subscribers (paying CA$20.99 and CA$16.49 respectively) pay CA$7.99 per month for each sub-account.
Netflix doesn't always have problems with subscribers sharing their passwords. As recently as 2016, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called this "a positive thing" because many password-sharing people ended up having their own accounts. Apparently, Hastings doesn't really encourage password sharing, but he doesn't seem to care about the crackdown either, noting that account sharing "isn't really the point."
Hastings' comments in 2016 came, of course, against the backdrop of Netflix's explosive subscriber growth rate. By early 2022, that growth had stalled, with Netflix reporting that its subscriber base had shrunk for the first time in a decade. The company says password sharing is part of the cause.
While Netflix hasn't quantified how much revenue it could lose from sharing passwords, a Los Angeles Times report estimates the practice could cost consumers up to 9.1 billion dollars. USD. 12.5 dollars. billion by 2024.
The streaming landscape has also changed dramatically in recent years. Back in 2016, Hastings could have been more relaxed about sharing passwords, as the streamer faced little serious competition. Today, it faces Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+.
While all the big players are fighting to the teeth to win new subscribers, streamers like Netflix are no longer offering free tickets to password-sharers.
2.
According to the Netflix Help Center, you can only share your Netflix account with people who "live in the same house".
You can also use the same Netflix account while traveling or between different homes. For example, if you're staying in your summer cottage (you're lucky!), you can also sign in to your Netflix account. as at your usual place of residence.
But if you share your Netflix password - and therefore your account - with someone who doesn't live with you without paying extra, that's prohibited, and that's clearly stated in the terms use Netflix.
It's now clear how Netflix will handle people sharing passwords, specifically a combination of requiring users to verify their accounts plus options for password owner accounts to transfer free downloaders to their own account (paid account) or pay extra to share their account with others outside family.
Here's some more information, taken directly from Netflix's Q3 2022 report:
After listening to consumer feedback, we'll offer borrowers the option to switch Netflix profile to their own account and let the sharer easily manage more of their profile device and create a secondary account ("additional membership"), if they want to pay family or friends.
For the bar, it's likely Netflix will start blocking streams from password-sharers who can't verify their accounts or aren't streaming with a paid subscriber's sub-account.
6.
Effective immediately, Netflix has announced that it will begin emailing users in the United States who share their accounts with people outside of their household. The email details how you can transfer your profile to your new account, as well as payment options for sharing your account.
When emails no longer warn users not to share their Netflix accounts without paying extra, it's clear that the Netflix password-sharing crackdown has officially begun. The move follows a growing series of password-sharing experiments that began in 2021, when streamers began asking users to verify their Netflix account with a four-digit code sent. to the account holder. The "check out later" option allows users to continue streaming even if they don't have the code, but the test certainly wowed some.
In March 2022, Netflix's efforts to prevent password sharing became more formal, with the company announcing an option for account holders in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru to create " sub-accounts" with reduced rates for up to two people outside of their household. .
Four months later, Netflix took a different approach, rolling out an "Add a Home" feature that allows Netflix subscribers in five Latin American countries to "buy" more homes that they or others other people can use the same Netflix account.
And during its third-quarter earnings call in October 2022, Netflix confirmed that it will start charging account sharers from "early 2023".
Netflix then announced a new "Profile Transfer" tool that allows password sharers to easily transfer all of their Netflix profile data, including watchlists, history, and recommendations. to a new account.
More recently, Netflix rolled out account sharing features in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and (currently) the United States.
7.
Netflix has finally revealed how much it will charge US users to share their accounts: $7.99 per month for each “additional membership”.
Account sharing prices vary in other regions. For example, in Canada, Premium and Standard subscribers (paying CA$20.99 and CA$16.49 respectively) pay CA$7.99 per month for each sub-account.