This is how Netflix wants to stop account sharing
Created: 07/21/2022, 10:48 am
New plans: Netflix wants to end account sharing (symbolic photo).
© Alexander Heinl/dpa
Netflix is struggling with high competitive pressure.
Now the company wants to contain the financial losses: by ending account sharing.
Kassel – Netflix is missing out on millions of paying customers.
The reason for this: the so-called password or account sharing.
Until now, the company has quietly accepted this practice.
But that could soon be over, as the online magazine for digital business
t3n.de
reports.
For Netflix, a household is made up of people living under one roof.
The brother in the other city and the girlfriend in the neighboring country do not count.
This is what Netflix has explicitly stated in the terms of use.
Netflix wants to ask additional households to pay
One way the extended households pay is through extra fees.
Password sharing is particularly popular in Latin America.
The streaming service has been testing a new subscription function there for some time.
Users can add additional households for a fee.
With the basic tariff it is one household, with the standard tariff two households.
With the premium tariff, customers can sublet their account to up to three additional "houses".
Netflix is planning a new “Manage Homes” feature for this purpose.
Monthly costs of up to three euros are incurred for the new households.
Netflix is already testing a similar system in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.
Reason for Netflix plans are high losses
Unauthorized account sharing has been a thorn in Netflix's side for a long time.
The company introduced a verification system in some countries last year.
This informs users that they need their own account.
The new strict plans against account sharing are due to the current high losses.
Netflix struggled with a massive drop in subscriptions in the first quarter of 2022.
Falling figures are also expected for the current quarter.
The pressure from competitors like Amazon Prime and Disney Plus is increasing.
The hoped-for monetization of around 100 million unauthorized households could ease the situation somewhat.
It remains to be seen whether Netflix can implement the plans smoothly.
The service plans to introduce the new subscription function in other countries by the end of 2022.
(Jan Wendt)
