The test run of Netflix’s new system for cracking down on people sharing their account password is not going well, according to new reports.
Back in March, the streaming giant asked three small markets in Latin America to pay an extra $2 to $3 when sharing their log-in details outside their ‘household’.
This was essentially an attempt by Netflix to tie an account to a physical location – but many users were left confused; what if they wanted to watch the service away from home? And what exactly is meant by ‘household’?
Netflix officially defines a household as ‘exclusively people a subscriber lives with’ - and not their immediate family.
The new policy has largely been met with derision in the test areas of Peru, Chile and Costa Rica, with many users blaming a lack of clear direction from Netflix.
And the streaming juggernaut often isn't even enforcing these new rules, according to global tech site Rest Of World.
One anonymous Peruvian customer service representative admitted to being unsure about what to say when a user asked about the change in policy.
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She said that if a subscriber called arguing that someone from their household was using the account from another location, she should investigate further and tell the subscriber to go ahead and use their account without extra charge via a verification code.
Tellingly, the Netflix employee herself still shares her account with friends outside her household - and has yet to be notified of any extra charges.
A communication specialist from Lima, Carlos Luque, also doesn’t take the new policy very seriously, sharing his account with his parents, brother, and girlfriend, all of whom live in different locations. Not a single one has been told of any change in policy, nor has Luque been charged any extra, according to Rest of World.
Despite all this, Netflix’s current hold on the market in Peru is still robust, although analysts are monitoring the situation to see if users turn to other services or resort to digital piracy.
The streaming giant had played a crucial role in sweeping analogue counterfeiting aside, forcing most of the pirate DVD trade out of business
For now, other global streaming services have a more easy-going attitude to account sharing.
Paul Erickson, a streaming market analyst from the firm Parks Associates, told Rest Of World: “A lot of other services are going to wait for Netflix to bloody their nose before they do something similar”.
