Netflix is about to clamp down on password sharing in March, after the “streaming behemoth released its earnings report to shareholders last week.
Logging into Netflix accounts outside the subscriber’s household will likely become more complex and may involve an additional fee to share a single subscription across multiple locations.
“While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly,” Netflix said in its report to shareholders.
Netflix says that password sharing takes place in more than 100 million households, and “undermines” its ability to invest and improve.
According to Neflix, 2022 was a “tough” year, with its customer base falling by 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of last year.
“As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with. As is the case today, all members will be able to watch while traveling, whether on a TV or mobile device.”
How Netflix will be able to manage users that stream their channel on multiple mobile devices, and mirror to their TVs remains to be seen. The new system could potentially put an end to logging into your account to watch a Netflix show at a friend’s or family member’s house, as well as sharing a single subscription across multiple houses, or at the ‘office.’
