Netflix has taken steps to limit password sharing in four more countries: Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. The company is requesting its customers in these countries to pay an additional fee if they wish to allow friends and family members who do not reside with them to access their subscriptions. This move comes after a similar crackdown on password sharing in South America, and it will be rolled out in the UK by the end of March.
The company stated that password sharing was affecting its ability to invest in new programming content and was hitting its revenue. Netflix is planning to extend this new approach to more countries in the coming months.
In a blog post, the company explained that members in Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal will now be asked to set up a “primary location” for their account and manage who has access to it. Members will still be able to watch Netflix when they travel, both on personal devices and by logging in at other locations, such as a hotel.
Netflix estimates that 100 million people worldwide use shared accounts. The company’s previous stance on password sharing appeared to be supportive, with a tweet in 2017 that read “Love is sharing a password.” However, with growing competition in the streaming market and customers cutting back on subscriptions due to rising costs of living, Netflix has shifted its focus to securing its revenue. The company stated that allowing accounts to be shared by multiple people within households has “created confusion” about when and how people can share.
