Netflix knows when you share your password, and it’s testing a way to charge you for it

For many years, folks have shared their Netflix password to friends and family so they can enjoy the programming offered by the streaming service. It appears this era of sharing your Netflix password may be coming to an end as Netflix faces far more competition than it did just three years ago, and the company’s revenue is feeling the effects of password sharing as well.

In a new blog post published by Netflix, the company will begin testing two new features in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru designed to curb the trend of sharing a Netflix account.

We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium Plans. While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared.

In this post, Netflix is setting the record straight, stating that accounts are not intended to be used between households. Netflix recognizes that password-sharing is impacting its revenue, and thus its ability to invest in original content that attracts subscribers.

As a result, accounts are being shared between households – impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members. So for the last year we’ve been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more.

Over the next few weeks, Netflix will begin testing what’s loosely described as ‘sub accounts’ but officially called “Extra Member” for existing accounts across Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Account holders can add up to two extra members that live outside the household to their account for an extra monthly fee per member. The fee is 2,380 CLP [$2.94] in Chile, USD $2.99 in Costa Rica, and 7.9 Nuevo Soles [$2.12] in Peru. Plus, each of these members would have their own username and password.

To go along with this feature, Netflix will allow existing profiles to be transferred out to another account, or to an existing Extra Member sub account that keeps the user’s watch history, favorites, and personalized recommendations.

Netflix has confirmed that it will wait to see how the test run goes in these three countries before making any changes to other markets. Netflix is looking to see whether this change would raise revenue and/or its subscriber count.

Up until now, Netflix has never really enforced password-sharing, though A Netflix executive has addressed this specific topic during the Q3 2019 earnings call. As per Netflix’s Terms and Conditions updated on November 2, 2021, Article 4.2:

The Netflix service and any content accessed through our service are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household."

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