Netflix's Password Sharing Crackdown Begins in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain

Netflix on Wednesday laid out plans to crack down on password sharing for accounts on its streaming platform, including setting up primary location and paying a couple of dollars for an extra member.

The video-streaming giant, which has estimated that 100 million around the world use a shared account, said that members can now easily manage who has access to their account, transfer profile to a new account and still easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV.

"So over the last year, we've been exploring different approaches to address this issue in Latin America, and we're now ready to roll them out more broadly in the coming months, starting today in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain," the company said in a blog post.

Members on Netflix's standard or premium plan in many countries can add an extra member sub account for up to two people for an extra CAD 7.99 (roughly Rs. 500) a month per person in Canada, NZD 7.99 (roughly Rs. 420) in New Zealand, EUR 3.99 (roughly Rs. 350) in Portugal, and EUR 5.99 (roughly Rs. 550) in Spain, the company said.

The company lost subscribers in the first half of 2022 amidst stiff competition from rivals, prompting it to look more seriously into password sharing and launching an ad-supported plan.

Netflix introduced a feature last year called "Profile Transfer" to crack down on the account password-sharing phenomena. The feature enables users who are presently sharing an account to maintain personalised recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings when they create their own Netflix account.

© Thomson Reuters 2023