Netflix has promised to start cracking down on users who share passwords that allow others to access their account.
The streaming giant has indicated that it will start charging users who share their passwords in addition to their family an additional monthly fee.
Although Netflix has been warning for months about the introduction of measures to end users who share passwords, it seems that things are going to get serious.
The company said in a quarterly earnings call Tuesday that it was considering “monetizing account sharing” early next year.
Company leaders told investors, “We’ve landed on a thoughtful approach to monetize account sharing and we’ll begin rolling this out more broadly starting in early 2023,” reports Metro.
Metro reported, “After listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer the ability for sharers to manage their devices more easily and to create sub-accounts, if they want to pay for family or friends.”
In South America, a test run saw Netflix add up to $4 (around €4) per month to add a second home to your account’s viewing habits.
The streaming service didn’t pursue the move after the trial ended, but it’s clearly considering how to implement a similar strategy around the world. To do something like this, you may need to monitor the IP addresses of the households linked to the accounts.
If two separate IP addresses were to log usage to the same account, they could draw attention to Netflix headquarters. Especially if the activity takes place at the same time.
Of course, there are privacy barriers to overcome and real usage scenarios to deal with as well. For example, if an account holder went to a friend’s house for movie night and logged into his account from his friends’ TV. Or a student used her parents’ Netflix login while she was in college.
In this case, the account holder may receive a request from the company to create the aforementioned sub-account.
While Netflix has always officially required users not to share their passwords, little has been done to enforce the rule.
However, after a rough summer, things seem to be looking up for Netflix.
The company gained 2.4 million subscribers in the latest quarter and saw its shares rise 13%. Although its shares continue to fall 50% since the beginning of the year.
COO Greg Peters said the new ad-supported entry level will launch in the UK on November 3 and cost around €6 per month.
The deal would mean significant savings for customers currently paying under €20 on one of the company’s three plans.
The new option will be rolled out to 12 countries, including the United States, Brazil, Germany, Japan, and Korea for 10 days.
At launch, the commercials will be 15 to 30 seconds long and will run before and during the series and movies, averaging four to five minutes of commercials per hour.
Subscribers to the plan will see between four and five minutes of advertising per hour, Netflix said. Newly released films will have limited advertising to preserve the cinematic experience.
About 5% to 10% of Netflix programming will not be available on the ad-supported alternative due to licensing restrictions, Peters told reporters.
Additionally, titles will not be able to be downloaded and video quality will range up to 720p/HD at the new level.
People are advised to tell their friends of the developments.
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