Netflix has issued a major update on its plans to end account and password sharing.
The streaming giant had said it was going to stop users from sharing their accounts with people outside their households. Now, Netflix said it plans to clamp down on password sharing across the world between April and July.
In other words, users will be banned from sharing their passwords and accounts with people who don't live in their households. Netflix experimented with paid sharing in four countries this year and said it was "pleased with the results," Manchester Evening News reports.
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In a letter to shareholders this week, the company said: "In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results. We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2. We’re pleased with the most recent launches of paid sharing, and while we could have launched broadly in Q1, we found opportunities to improve the experience for members.
"We learn more with each rollout and we’ve incorporated the latest learnings, which we think will lead to even better results. To implement these changes, we shifted out the timing of the broad launch from late Q1 to Q2."
The changes have been introduced in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain so far. This is after a trial period in several South and Central American countries saw the rollout of the paid sharing service.
Users can pay an extra monthly fee on top of their existing subscription to add an extra "sub-account". The new charge is an extra CAD$7.99 (€5.40) in Canada, NZD$7.99 (€4.48) in New Zealand, €3.99 in Portugal, and €5.99 in Spain.
Netflix is yet to confirm the cost of Irish users. A sub-account can be added that has its own profile, login, and password. Users will also be able to transfer a profile from an existing account to a new one if they are required to set up and pay for their own account.
The company first announced the clampdown in October 2022 after suffering from a huge loss of subscribers for the first time in a decade. Since implementing the changes, the streamer’s revenue has risen to $8,162bn (€7,458bn).
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