Netflix announced that it will be officially charging for password sharing in early 2023, according to its October letter to shareholders. This decision follows a pilot password-sharing program that was rolled out by the company in March and faced immediate backlash. Despite this, Netflix has stated its intention to monetize account sharing by requiring subscribers to pay an extra fee for sharing their accounts with individuals outside their households.
To implement this change, Netflix will be giving users who are borrowing someone else’s account the ability to transfer their profile information, including their viewing history and personalized recommendations, to their own account. Subscribers who wish to continue sharing their account with family or friends outside their household will have the option to pay for “sub-accounts” for these extra members.
In order to enforce these changes, shared users will now be required to connect to the primary user’s home network at least once every 31 days. If this connection is not made, other users will be unable to access the primary user’s account. If the platform is accessed outside the home network, users who attempt to sign into the primary user’s account will be prompted to create their own account. Additionally, Netflix will prevent devices from accessing the primary user’s account until the user has signed up separately.
Earlier in the year, Netflix began testing its policy of charging for password sharing in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru. In those three countries, subscribers were able to add up to two extra members to their accounts for an additional fee of $2.99, 2,380 Chilean pesos, and 7.9 Peruvian sol per month, respectively. The company has not yet disclosed how much it will charge for this service in other countries.
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