By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
Netflix is now alerting U.S. subscribers who share passwords that they will have to pay an extra $7.99 per month for any person who uses their account outside their household. The company says it will begin blocking access to non-household members if the $7.99 a month is not paid.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live — your household,” the streamer says in a subscriber e-mail.
Netflix says Standard plan subscribers, who pay $15.99 a month, can add one extra person outside the household for $7.99 a month. Premium plan subs, who pay $19.99 a month, can add two extra members outside the household for $7.99 a month each.
Subscribers to Netflix’s Basic or Standard plan with ads cannot add extra members, which means they cannot share their passwords with any non-household person regardless of whether they would want to pay for it or not.
You can learn more about Netflix’s new policy here.
The streaming service says the password crackdown will not affect subscribers who watch while on the go. Netflix says it uses a combination of IP addresses, account histories and other data to determine if a household member is watching.
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“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” Netflix says.
Netflix was once an advocate of password sharing, but increased competition in the streaming category has stifled the company’s growth in the last few years, particularly in the U.S. and Canada. The streamer is looking to generate more revenue with several new actions, including the password crackdown and the new ads-included plan.
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
