The time has finally come: After months of warnings, Netflix is now officially cracking down on account sharing. That means that the halcyon days of casually offering up your password to your kid, your cousin, your cousin’s cousin, or whoever else needs a login are a thing of the past. Here’s everything you need to know about the streaming platform’s new rules and how much these changes will cost you.
How much will Netflix charge for password sharing?
This week, Netflix announced that subscribers to the company’s standard or premium plans can let others living outside their household share their account for an extra $8 per month. The streaming service assured users that everyone under their own roofs will still be able to use Netflix “wherever they are” without having to pay the extra fee.
The streamer didn’t specify how exactly they’ll be able to distinguish between, say, your husband watching Stranger Things on his laptop at home and your grown daughter attempting to binge the new season of Queer Eye from her apartment. But USA Today reports that Netflix will ask account owners to sign in and set their primary location — and by analyzing IP addresses, device IDs, and network signals, it’ll determine which users are actually part of your household.
If you’re one of the 100 million generous folks estimated to be sharing their accounts, expect an email from Netflix soon: The company said it started notifying users about these changes on Tuesday.
Why is Netflix cracking down on password sharing?
The company used to encourage it — or at least didn’t seem to mind. But last year, it reported that for the first time in a decade, it had actually lost subscribers. That’s partly because the streaming landscape looks totally different than it did back when Netflix first entered the market: Between heavy hitters like Hulu and Amazon Prime and legacy networks like HBO and NBC creating their own popular platform, the media juggernaut now has a ton of competition. And, of course, there are the millions of moochers out there not paying for memberships.
In an effort to right the ship, Netflix stated last April that it would start to limit password sharing. It began enforcing the new policy just a few months ago in Canada, Spain, Portugal, and New Zealand, to mixed results. In Spain, more than 1 million users fled the app, per USA Today, but after a wave of cancellations, a number of subscribers began paying to share their accounts. And in Canada, after the policy change, the streamer did rake in more paying customers.
What other changes has Netflix made?
Last year, Netflix also unveiled a cheaper version of its service that has (boo) commercials. That subscription costs $6.99 a month compared to the standard plan, which goes for $15.49, and the $20 premium plan. For every hour of viewing, there’s between four to five minutes of ads, the company says.
That lower-tier plan also may not include all of Netflix’s shows and movies. The company’s chief operating officer Greg Peters said in October that between 5 to 10 percent of its content won’t be included initially, but that that number is expected to shrink as the platform negotiates with studios and producers for access. So if you want full access to all the viewable goodies on the service, you may have to prepare to open up your wallet a little further.
