Netflix’s Password-Sharing Crackdown Starts in the US and Other Big Markets

Netflix has started its password-sharing crackdown in the US and the rest of its biggest markets this week. Subscribers who are currently sharing their passwords with people outside of their households will soon receive an email asking them to control how their accounts are used.

“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” Netflix explained in the announcement posted yesterday.

Netflix is offering two options to subscribers who are currently sharing their password with someone outside of their household

• Transfer an unauthorized profile to a new account: This will allow users to keep their viewing history and personalized recommendations to a new membership that they will pay for.
• Buy an extra membership: For $7.99/month, Netflix subscribers with the Standard plan can share their Netflix account with one extra member that doesn’t live with them (it’s 2 extra members with the Premium plan).

Netflix has been testing the option to add extra members to a subscription since March of last year in select markets. The company lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, which was a first for the streaming platform. At the time, Netflix pointed out “the large number of households sharing accounts” as one of the reasons for its growth struggles.

“Love is sharing a password,” the Netflix Twitter account posted six years ago. Fast forward to 2023, the party is over as Netflix is now facing big competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and other services. If the platform is now trying to attract new subscribers with a $6.99/month ad-supported plan, putting an end to password sharing globally is certainly going to disappoint longtime subscribers.

Do you think Netflix is going a step too far by asking subscribers to pay to share their passwords? Sound off in the comments below.