Netflix to roll out restrictions on password sharing

The day of using your mate’s brother’s friend’s girlfriend’s Netflix account may be a thing of the past, with Netflix announcing its plan to cut down on account and password sharing.

The new restrictions will mean that the majority of users will be required to have their own account and login, unless you live in the same household as someone who has an account.

In its latest earning report, Netflix stated “Later in Q1, we expect to start rolling out paid sharing more broadly.

“Today’s widespread account sharing undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business.”

And with the company ballparking the account sharing figure at 100 million households, it could spell a substantial increase in profits to the same company that had been steadily losing subscribers over the past few years.

There has been no word as to an exact date the crackdown will begin, and what penalties people can expect if they are found to be sharing passwords between households, but the news comes as a result of a number of trials and introductions Netflix made throughout 2022.

In March 2022, Netflix rolled out two features – ‘Add an Extra Member’ and ‘Transfer Profile to New Account’ – to select subscribers in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru in a trial to cut down on password sharing, along with rolling out the ‘Basic with Ads’ plan to Aussies in November 2022.

This also marks one of the first major crackdowns on password sharing from a streaming platform, with many other services no doubt keeping a close eye on its impact.

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