Netflix is on the point of removing your best friend from accessing your account, unless you choose to pay for account sharing. The streaming platform recently disclosed the specifics of its crackdown on password sharing in the United States, including the associated cost to maintain additional users on your account.
For users that have the Standard plan, priced at $15.49 per month, there is now the option to include an additional member who can utilize the service beyond your household, for an extra $7.99 per month. If you have opted for the Premium package that offers 4K streaming, you have the opportunity to add up to two extra members, with each one incurring an additional cost of $7.99. It’s worth nothing that the implementation of these new rules is not limited to the United States alone. Netflix subscribers in the UK will also be charged £4.99 per month for each extra member slot.
The subscribers of two most affordable plans, namely Basic or Standard with Ads, priced at $9.99 and $6.99 per month respectively, are unfortunately not provided with the option to include additional members on their accounts.
The company has been conducting paid password-sharing experiments for some time, and in February, it extended these tests to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. Initially, the crackdown on password-sharing was planned to be implemented in the United States at the beginning of this year. However, Netflix decided to postpone the launch once again, and the new target date was set for April.
According to the official support page, an “extra member” refers to an individual who will have their own password and profile, with the subscription fee paid by the person who invited them to join. The extra member accounts come with some limitations. They must be activated within the same country. Moreover, they are restricted viewing or downloading content to a single device at a time, and do not have the ability to create additional profiles or access the Kids profile.
Your household is determined by the location where you stream the service and the corresponding IP address of the device. If necessary, you have the option to reset this location by using the application on a TV or a device connected to a TV. To do so, you can select the option to confirm or update your household and then respond to a verification link sent to the email address or phone number associated with your account.
Netflix
We use information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity to determine whether a device signed into your account is part of your Netflix Household.
We do not collect GPS data to try to determine the precise physical location of your devices.
If a Netflix Household hasn’t been set, we will automatically set one for you based on IP address, device IDs, and account activity.
You can always update your Netflix Household from a TV by connecting to your internet and following the steps above.
Netflix was previously known for its supportive stance on password sharing. In March 2017, it gained attention when it tweeted the message, “Love is sharing a password”, which remains accessible at the time of writing. However, in early 2022, the company began experimenting with methods to discourage this practice and encourage individuals to pay for their own Netflix accounts, particularly when accessing the service outside of the account owner’s household.