Netflix has confirmed plans to roll out a block on password sharing that will see millions of users affected, either having to pay more to continue watching or face being booted off the platform.
Although Netflix's terms currently state that users are not supposed to share their passwords with people not in their household, this has not deterred millions of subscribers from giving their account details to friends and family to save money. The streaming giant announced back in October that it was planning to stop users from sharing accounts with people outside their household, and has now given more detail on what these new rules will entail.
As well as limiting accounts to one household, Netflix is also set to introduce new features - including giving people the option to pay more if they want to keep sharing their account with people they don't live with. A similar scheme is already in place in other countries around the world including Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, and Netflix now plans to roll out the initiative on a wider scale this year, The Express reports.
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Netflix confirmed the plans, saying: "Later in Q1, we expect to start rolling out paid sharing more broadly. Today’s widespread account sharing (100 million + households) undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business."
They added: "While our terms of use limit use of Netflix to a household, we recognise this is a change for members who share their account more broadly. So we’ve worked hard to build additional new features that improve the Netflix experience, including the ability for members to review which devices are using their account and to transfer a profile to a new account.
"As we roll out paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people they don’t live with. As is the case today, all members will be able to watch while traveling, whether on a TV or mobile device."
It has not yet been confirmed when this change will affect users in the UK, but given that Netflix said it plans to roll out paid sharing more broadly "later in Q1" subscribers could see them introduced within a matter of months. It comes after the streaming platform introduced a cheaper £4.99 package with adverts in November.
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