How Netflix will Crack Down on Password Sharing

There is a lot of competition when it comes to streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix.

©Disney

Netflix has been a leader in the streaming world for a while now, but Disney+ is challenging that lead and is actually expected to pass Netflix in number of subscribers in the next few years. Netflix has also been losing subscribers, and now, a new move could cause them to lose even more.

Netflix is planning on cracking down on password sharing, according to CNBC. They plan on charging the primary account holder an extra fee for every “sub account” or password sharer.

©Netflix

Netflix said that more than 100 million households are using a shared password, including 30 million in the United States and Canada. Instead of freezing those shared accounts, Netflix will most likely set an extra fee for those accounts being used by multiple people outside of the home, according to CNBC.

©William Antonelli/Business Insider

The company already began testing this feature in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. Netflix charged an additional fee to add “sub accounts” for up to 2 people outside of the home. The pricing is different in each country, but in these the fees were about $2.13 per month in Peru, $2.99 in Costa Rica, and $2.92 in Chile.

Disney Content on Netflix

Netflix is allowing people who use a shared password to transfer their personalized profile info to either a new account or a sub account, which will let you keep your viewing history and recommendations.

If you’ve got a sister, let’s say, that’s living in a different city, you want to share Netflix with her, that’s great. We’re not trying to shut down that sharing, but we’re going to ask you to pay a bit more to be able to share with her and so that she gets the benefit and the value of the service, but we also get the revenue associated with that viewing,” said Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters, according to CNBC.

©Netflix

Peters also said that he thought it would take about a year to put its sub account pricing into use globally and suggested that the company may still tweak pricing or further review its test strategy.

No other major streamer has ever cracked down on password sharing like this before, and likely will not until they see how it goes for Netflix. It’s also unclear how Netflix will handle password sharing when it comes to situations like a family member temporarily living away from home, like when kids go off to college.

©Netflix

We’ll keep you updated on any more news about this new password sharing crackdown. Stay tuned to DFB for more.

Click here to learn about how Netflix expects to lose millions of subscribers

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The post How Netflix will Crack Down on Password Sharing first appeared on the disney food blog.