EntertainmentStreamingCan you share your Netflix password? Netflix’s account sharing crackdown isn’t going as plannedNetflix’s password sharing crackdown appears to be as confusing as an episode of Stranger ThingsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentStreamingCan you share your Netflix password? Netflix’s account sharing crackdown isn’t going as plannedNetflix’s password sharing crackdown appears to be as confusing as an episode of Stranger ThingsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Netflix’s password sharing crackdown appears to be as confusing as an episode of Stranger Things
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: about.netflix.com)
(Image credit: about.netflix.com)
Netflix’s long-predictedpassword sharing crackdownappears to be going not so well: according to news siteRest Of World, its attempts in Peru – where it’s trialling the changes before implementing them in other markets – are “a mess”, leaving customers confused and potentially opening the streaming firm to the risk of action from local consumer regulators.
The crackdown is happening because Netflix wants you to give it more money. It says that one in five of its users is freeloading via someone else’s account, and it intends to limit sharing to members of the same household – which it defines as people in the same building, not immediate family members who may live elsewhere. That definition excludes families like mine where the kids spend time in more than one location.
The reason Netflix wants more money is because its investors want to see growth, and that’s not coming from Netflix Originals right now. In recent months Netflix’s growth has gone into reverse gear: in the first quarter of 2022Netflix lost 200,000 subscribersinstead of adding the 2.5 million new ones it had predicted. I’m about to join them, primarily because Netflix is currently the most expensive streaming service with the fewest things I want to watch (andAmazon Prime has just launched arguably the best showyou can watch).
If the Rest of World report is correct, Netflix’s password crackdown is brilliant news – not for Netflix, but for its rivals.
Why Netflix’s password crackdown is “a mess”
It seems that the problems are with Netflix rather than its customers: the report says there’s a lack of clarity over Netflix’s definition of a household, there are different charges being levied on different customers without any apparent explanation (the fee to add additional family members who don’t live with you is apparently an additional 25% of the cost of a stand-lone plan), and many customers are completely unaware of the crackdown at all. While some users are just ignoring it and continuing to share, others are unhappy and some are cancelling their subs altogether.
One of those people is Kat Galindo from Lima. Speaking to Rest Of World, she said that she’d decided to cancel and sign up for HBO Max instead. “It wasn’t just the new charges,” she said. “I just wasn’t enjoying most of their shows anymore.” The publication spoke to several other ex-subscribers and noted that “they all still jointly share HBO Max,Amazon Primeand Star+ accounts.”
I think that’s the thing Netflix should be worried about: while it’s cracking down on account sharing, its rivals aren’t – and its rivals are a lot cheaper and often have more must-watch shows. MyApple TV+subscription can be shared with family members wherever they are; so can myDisney+and myAmazon Prime Video. And if they stay that way, I think we’ll see more Netflix subscribers jumping ship.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
The best streaming servicesAmazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The best streaming servicesAmazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The best streaming servicesAmazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The best streaming services
Amazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all prices
Amazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all prices
Amazon Prime$3.99ViewSee all prices
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime
$3.99View
$3.99
$3.99
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Build bigger arms in just 30 minutes with this 5-move dumbbell-only workoutIt’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
It’ll leave the biceps and triceps popping!
OMEGA puts the moon on your wrist with its new Speedmaster Moonphase MeteoriteOMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
OMEGA adds two new Moonphase Meteorite watches to its Speedmaster line-up
