Netflix reveals when it will crack down on password sharing as customers braced to pay more to use same account
19 April 2023, 12:36
Netflix has announced that it will soon start its crackdown on password sharing in a bid to boost earnings.
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The streaming giant wants to stop multiple users taking advantage of the same account when they don't live with each other and will start making people pay to share their passwords.
It is already running a trial in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal but has announced it will begin the crackdown in countries including the US in this quarter of the year – April to June.
In South America, where a trial on paid-for password sharing has been running, it costs up to £3 to allow others to use your login details.
Netflix shedded 200,000 subscribes a year ago, the first time its subscribers fell in more than a decade.
It did add 1.75m in the first quarter of this year, as it introduced a cheaper subscription that includes adverts, but that was still short of the more than 2m it was thought the service would gain.
There are now 233m subscribers.
Read more: Netflix says updated measures to crackdown on password sharing were posted by accident
The company said its password-sharing crackdown "will lead to even better results".
It said in a results statement: "To implement these changes, we shifted out the timing of the broad launch from late Q1 to Q2.
"We are planning on a broad rollout [of the password sharing crackdown], including in the US, in Q2.
"We're pleased with the most recent launches of paid sharing, and while we could have launched broadly in Q1, we found opportunities to improve the experience for members."
Netflix, which has dominated streaming for so long, is under pressure from competition with Amazon Prime and newer offers like Disney+, as well as customers tightening their belts in the cost of living crisis.
