After a delayed launch, Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing is now rolling out to US customers and other markets. The streamer originally planned to introduce “paid sharing” for US subscribers in the first quarter of this year, but after seeing cancellations in markets where it had already rolled out the changes, pushed the launch date to summer. pushed back. Under the new rules, US customers will either have to exclude people from their Netflix account or pay $7.99/month for additional subscriptions for people outside their main household.
The company provides tools to ease this transition, including a way for current customers to see which devices are signed in to their account and remove those that should not have access, as well as a way to reset their passwords. Also includes reset tool.
For those sharing someone else’s Netflix account, they can transition to their account via the “Transfer Profile” option which will help them transfer their existing account information including viewing history and watchlists.
The feature has been met with a lot of consumer backlash, but Netflix has assured investors that despite some early cancellations, it believes the password crackdown will be beneficial to its long-term growth as a business and financial health. .
For example, during its first-quarter earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the results of the password crackdown in its previously supported markets looked a lot like how customers reacted to the price hike.
Netflix began testing the feature in Latin American markets earlier this year before expanding access to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
“We see an initial cancellation response and then we grow out of that in terms of both subscriptions and revenue as borrowers sign up for their own Netflix accounts and existing members buy additional member features for those they want to share. want,” 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 the different market characteristics are different from each other and also different from the original Latin American rollout countries,” he said.
In Q1 the company reported a net increase of 1.75 million global customers in the quarter, falling below Wall Street’s estimate of 3 million, bringing its global total to 232.5 million accounts.
It also shared during the earnings call that it planned to roll out the password-sharing change for US customers on or before June 30.
Today, Netflix announced on its blog that it is sending an email to members in the US who are sharing their Netflix account.
“One Netflix account is for one home use,” the company warns. “Everyone living in that household can access Netflix anywhere — at home, on the go, on vacation — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profiles and Manage Access and Devices,” the post reads.
The email, titled “An Update on Sharing,” details only the options available and points members to further helping documentation, if needed.
Image Credits: Netflix
In an email sent to the press, Netflix clarified that the email is being sent as it is “now starting to roll out the sharing update in countries around the world, including the US”.
While earlier tests indicate that Netflix may rebound after a password crackdown, it has yet to see results from doing so in its largest and most important market, the US, where it costs users time and money. faces increasing competition.
The timing of the launch announcement is notable, as today HBO Max is turning into Max, a new service that combines HBO and Discovery+ content under one roof. Next month, on June 27, Paramount+ will also add Showtime to its service.
