Netflix is once again testing a new way to stop subscribers from sharing their Netflix accounts with people outside of their homes. While the service hasn't provided too many details yet, members on Standard or Premium tiers will be able to add sub accounts for people they don't live with, each with their own login and password.
This new feature will be tested in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru over the coming weeks, and based on varying exchange rates, adding on a sub-account seems like it will cost between $3 and $4 if the feature ever launches locally.
While Netflix allows for account sharing, logins aren't meant to be shared with "individuals beyond your household". As such, a student living away from their parents technically shouldn't be using the family Netflix account.
It's unclear as to how Netflix plans to get people to switch to sub accounts, but in a blog post detailing the feature, the streaming giant explicitly talks about clamping down on account sharing.
"We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans," said Netflix Director for Product Innovation, Chengyi Long.
"While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households - impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members."
As part of the changes, Netflix will also allow members to transfer profile information to a new account, maintaining viewing history, lists, and recommendations in the process. At the least, this does sound like a pretty useful way to boot an ex from your Netflix account.
At this stage, there's no timeframe for when these new features may get a broader release, with Netflix saying it wants to understand their utility in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru before making changes anywhere else in the world.
This isn't the first time Netflix has tried cracking down on account sharing. Around this time last year, a small number of users started receiving warnings that stated "if you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching".
These users were then given the opportunity to verify the account via a code sent to the owner. If they were unable to do so, they were unable to keep streaming. Netflix has seemingly done away with this feature, however.
Today's news follows a Netflix price-hike at the end of last year, where the company increased its Standard plan pricing from $15.99 per month to $16.99 and Premium plan pricing from $19.99 per month to $22.99 per month.
Adding another $3 or $4 on top of this to facilitate account sharing would make even more expensive than the competition. For comparison, Binge and Stan both have entry-level tiers at $10 per month and standard tiers at $14 per month. Binge has a premium tier at $18 per month, while Stan's premium tier will set you back $17 per month. Amazon Prime Video is the cheapest mainstream service available locally, billed at $6.99 per month with no tiered options.
None of these services have made any public attempts to crack down on account sharing.
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Alex Choros
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