You won’t be able to piggyback off a friend’s/loved one’s Netflix login and password forever.
Per the Wall Street Journal, Netflix will begin cracking down on password sharing starting in 2023 in hopes of spurring password piggybackers to create new accounts.
The company has stated that 100 million viewers watch the service using passwords borrowed from friends or family members. Although Netflix has historically looked the other way, it’s preparing to introduce measures to crack down on the practice.
Netflix had apparently considered consumer backlash when it began plans to end password sharing. The company considered a gradual reduction in password sharing to test the waters.
The company also considered adding pay-per-view content to its catalogs, which could make users wary of sharing their passwords with others who might run up their bills. According to sources close to the story, Netflix has eschewed this idea in favor of keeping a simpler interface.
It’s unknown as to exactly how Netflix will combat password sharing, and consumers likely won’t know until 2023. Even so, according to its Help Center, the company says accounts can only be shared by those who live together, and it would enforce the rules by monitoring users’ IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity.
The measures come at a time when Netflix has seen negative grown for the first time in a decade, and the company lost approximately 200,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
Netflix hopes to ease the transition for new subscribers by offering a lower-cost, ad-supported tier. It also has rolled out a new “Transfer Profile to a New Account” feature, which retains viewing history and personalized information for a smoother experience.
Netflix has also recently added a feature that allows subscribers to remove log-ins from their account.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and The Wall Street Journal