Netflix will charge extra for sharing passwords
The streaming video site Netflix is popular in many markets around the world, but for consumers, subscription payment is not completely free. Therefore, users often share their subscription accounts with family members or friends, or ask for accounts from family members or friends and log in to watch by themselves. This behavior, known as sharing passwords, is a violation of Netflix’s use agreement, but Netflix rarely bans user accounts and at most just pops up a normative prompt. Netflix has cracked down on shared password behavior in a short period of time before. When users try to log in, a second verification will pop up. If there is no verification code, they cannot log in.
In a blog post, Chengyi Long, director of product innovation, says, “While these [household plans] 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.”
At the same time, the new solution supports the transfer of existing accounts into sub-accounts, that is, the existing subscription accounts are linked to the main accounts of friends and family members to reduce subscription fees. The sub-account can also be separated from the main account and become a new main account at any time so that the user’s own account password and viewing data will not be deleted and lost.
At present, the above function is only tested in some markets in South America, and it is estimated that Netflix is unlikely to launch this function directly to all markets around the world.
