Netflix will officially end password sharing in 2023, according to a new report.
The new year marks a major clampdown for the streaming service, with the company introducing new changes in order to prevent users from sharing accounts.
In previous moments, the platform has been relaxed in its policy for those who share their passwords and accounts. Although the rules stated this was officially banned, the company appeared to turn a blind eye to those sharing accounts across different households and locations.
Back in 2017, the brand even tweeted that ‘love is sharing a password’, but has gone back on their word according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
For the first time in 10 years, Netflix has seen its revenues decreasing, with a significant reduction in the number of subscribers to the TV and film service. In order to combat this, the company appears to be making it significantly harder for multiple people to piggyback on one account.
Netflix has already began testing the new policy in some Latin American countries, which includes a feature that will target those who seem to be sharing accounts and encouraging them to pay around $3 extra per month for an add-on which allows them to share their password.
The streaming company will also provide the primary account holder with a code that other users will be required to enter in order to access their account. This code changes every month, which makes it tricky for people who use a bill-payers account without their prior knowledge.
Netflix have confirmed that at some point in 2023 they will start rolling out the new feature, called 'add a home', where users can stream movies with one home included on any device and any plan. If you're trying to access your account from another location, however, you will be asked to pay an extra fee.
It is not yet known what Netflix will do in the new year in regards to finding people who are sharing accounts, but the platform already garners a variety of data such as device locations and account activity, which will assumedly be used to identify shared accounts.
It also is not clear when the company will discourage users from sharing their passwords, but their Update To Paid Sharing blog post dated July 2022 suggests that they will encourage users to buy their accounts and make it more difficult to share them.
Netflix also considered further options for their platform, including pay-per-view content so that people would be apprehensive about sharing their account with regards to worries surrounding money on renting, according to the report.
Another option for the brand, which may be facing financial struggle in response to their dwindling subscribers, is introducing a cheaper tier to encourage users to join (or re-join) the platform at the cost of being shown ads.
A representative of Netflix told the Mirror that they are unable to share exactly when these changes will be rolled out.
