Netflix customers have to worry: pricing is becoming more aggressive 

Created: 03/21/2022, 16:36

By: Franziska Kaindl

Person holding remote control in front of TV with Netflix open.

© Imago

Password sharing has long been a thorn in Netflix's side.

The streaming provider is now testing extra fees for people who share accounts with others.

Many Netflix* subscribers share their account with family, friends and partners - even if they don't live in the same household.

This is actually forbidden, but so far the streaming provider has had no way of identifying the "culprits".

Instead, Netflix has now come up with a strategy on how to earn money from account sharing.

Customers should get away even cheaper than before.

Account sharing for a surcharge - Netflix with a new test

"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," Netflix executive Chengyi Long wrote in a blog post.

In her phrasing, she tries to avoid blaming Netflix customers for sharing passwords with people outside of the household: "While these features are hugely popular, they have also created

." As a result, accounts would be shared between households, but this impacts "our ability to invest in great new television programs and films for our members."

According to Chengyi Long, there has been a lot of thought over the last year about how users who previously used Netflix outside of the home could continue to do so "in a simple and secure way".

The result is now a

to be launched in

.

From now on, Netflix subscribers with a standard and premium

– for an

(equivalent to around 2.70 euros).

The "sub-accounts" are provided with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password.

Another new feature will allow members with Basic, Standard and Premium accounts to transfer the profile information of other users with whom they share an account to a stand-alone account or to a "sub-account".

This means that the users affected do not have to start from scratch with regard to their watch list and recommendations - and Netflix generates new subscribers with little effort.

Password sharing on Netflix

Netflix's new test isn't the first attempt to crack down on

.

Last year, the streaming provider tried an extra level of security designed to lock out non-Netflix account holders.

Now the stagnant growth in new registrations and the fiercely triumphant competition are prompting the company to pursue other paths – which may alienate fewer users.