Netflix begins crackdown on password sharing in US and global markets

Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing is now starting to roll out to US subscribers and other global markets, after a delayed launch. The streamer originally planned to introduce ‘paid sharing’ to US subscribers in the first quarter of this year, but pushed back the start date to summer, after seeing cancellations in markets where it had already launched the changes . Under the new rules, US subscribers will either have to kick people out of their Netflix account or pay $7.99/month for an additional subscription for those outside of their primary household.

Similar changes will be rolling out to dozens of global markets in the weeks and months to come.

The company offers tools to make this transition easier, including a way for current subscribers to see which devices are signed in to their account and remove those that shouldn’t have access, as well as tools to reset their password.

For those who are sharing someone else’s Netflix account, they can transition to their own account through a “Transfer Profile” option that will help them move their existing account information, including their viewing history. and their watch list.

The feature has garnered a lot of consumer feedback, but Netflix has assured investors that despite some early rollbacks, it believes password crackdown will benefit its long-term growth as a business and its financial health.

During its first-quarter results, for example, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the results of the password crackdown in its first supported markets closely resembled subscriber reaction to increases. of price.

“We see an initial cancellation reaction and then we leverage that, both in terms of membership and revenue, as borrowers sign up for their own Netflix accounts and existing members purchase this additional member facility for the people they want to share with,” Peters told investors on the earnings call in April. “So first of all, it was a strong validation to see consistent results in these new countries, because there are different market characteristics different from each other and also different from the countries of origin deployment in Latin America” , he added.

Netflix had first started testing the feature in Latin American markets before expanding access to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain earlier this year. With today’s launch, it will reach a wider set of global markets including Brazil, Bolivia, Belize, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Philippines , Malaysia, Israel, Thailand, Taiwan, Switzerland, Sweden and others.

The company may have delayed the crackdown in the first quarter because it didn’t want to have any further impact on its net adds. The company last quarter reported a net increase of 1.75 million global subscribers in the quarter, which fell below Wall Street estimates of 3 million, reaching a total of 232.5 million accounts in the world.

He also shared during earnings that he plans to roll out the password sharing changes for US subscribers “no later than” June 30. It looks like Netflix may have shifted the schedule a bit.

Today, Netflix announced on its blog that it is emailing members in the United States who share their Netflix account.

“A Netflix account is intended for use by a single household,” the company warns. “Everyone who lives in this household can use Netflix wherever they are – at home, on the go, on vacation – and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” it says. message.

The email itself, titled “An Update on Sharing,” simply details the options available and directs members to additional help documentation, if needed.

In an email sent to the press, Netflix clarified that the email is being sent because it is “now beginning to roll out sharing updates to countries around the world, including the United States.”

Although earlier tests indicated that Netflix could rebound from a password crackdown, it has yet to see the results of this action in its largest and most important market, the United States, where it does face increased competition for users’ time and money.

The timing of the launch announcement is remarkable, as today HBO Max transforms into Max, a new service that combines HBO and Discovery+ content under one roof, roughly doubling the amount of programming available. Next month, on June 27, Paramount+ will also add Showtime to its service. Meanwhile, Disney said it plans to combine Disney+ and Hulu into one app. While some changes may come with price increases, they also offer more content to subscribers. Netflix, meanwhile, is asking viewers to pay more for the same amount.

Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET with a longer list of countries where the crackdown on password sharing is being rolled out.