Netflix Finally Started Charging For Sharing Password

Netflix started charging subscribers a small fee to use their account in a second residence. The streaming platform is conducting this experiment hoping some extra revenue as customers pay for password sharing.

Customers using an account for more than two weeks away from their home address in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic will be charged an additional cost, the business announced in a blog post on Monday. Both persons on vacation and those using mobile devices like cellphones, tablets, or laptops to access Netflix won’t be impacted by this. In Argentina, the additional house will cost 219 pesos ($1.70), while it would cost $2.99 elsewhere.

According to Netflix, more than 100 million households are utilising accounts that have been paid for by other people. Password sharing is one of the main causes of the company’s sluggish subscriber growth, according to Netflix. The business lost 200,000 consumers in the first quarter and projected losing 2,000,000 more in the next. Investors’ concerns that the streaming industry is in peril have caused its share price to decline by more than 65% this year.

According to Netflix’s official statement in a blog, this is how “Add a Home” feature will work:

• One home per account: Each Netflix account – whatever your plan – will include one home where you can enjoy Netflix on any of your devices. 
• Buy additional homes: To use your Netflix account in additional homes, we will ask you to pay an extra [219 Pesos per month per home in Argentina / $2.99 per month per home in the Dominican Republic / $2.99 per month per home in Honduras / $2.99 per month per home in El Salvador / $2.99 per month per home in Guatemala]. Members on the Basic plan can add one extra home, Standard up to two extra, and Premium up to three extra. 
• Travel included: You can watch while outside the home on your tablet, laptop or mobile.
• New manage homes feature: You will soon be able to control where your account is being used – and remove homes at any time – from your account settings page.

A director of production innovation named Chengyi Long wrote on the site that “today’s extensive account sharing amongst families hinders our long-term capacity to invest in and develop our service.”

In Latin America, where Netflix is doing its first two tests to determine if subscribers will pay for access, password sharing has been especially prevalent. Without hurting Netflix subscribers or alienating users, the corporation is attempting to restrict sharing. Some consumers are concerned they may lose access to their account because the effort has occasionally been presented as a crackdown.

The business is experimenting with methods to charge more if many people use the same Netflix account. In its initial attempt, the business has requested extra payment from clients in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru in order to add a member to an account. This additional user creates a sub-account with their own email address, receives their own stream, and is permitted to use Netflix concurrently with the original user up to the allotted time on their plan.

Customers may view on one device at a time with a basic package. The premium package supports four devices, while the more expensive regular plan supports just two.

Customers who are utilising the same account in different residences are the focus of this most recent test. They will get an in-app message asking them to either add a household or shift their primary household to the new location if they use an account outside of one of their paying households for more than two weeks.

Customers have control over their properties and can add or remove them as they see fit. There is no rise in the number of simultaneous Netflix viewers when more homes are added.