Netflix has been warning its subscriber base in the US and most of its other markets that it was going to clamp down on account and password sharing for its streaming service sooner rather than later. Today, that fateful day has finally come.
In the US, Netflix posted a blog entry with a copy of an email it is sending to its subscribers. It said that members in the same household can share a Netflix account and password. Those same folks can also stream Netflix from any location.
However, starting now, people who don"t live in the same household but still get their Netflix movies and TV shows by sharing an account outside that household will have to start paying $7.99 a month. Otherwise, they can simply transfer their profile and purchase their own subscription to Netflix.
Netflix"s online help page has some more info on this new move. It stated:
- The extra member must be activated in the same country where the account owner created their account.
- Extra members cannot be added to Netflix-included packages or third-party billed accounts.
- Extra members cannot be added to ad-supported plans.
Another support page shows that those extra members can only stream on one device at a time and that they can only download titles on one device at a time. Furthermore, the extra member cannot create any extra profiles. Finally, the extra member cannot have a Kids Profile for parental safety concerns.
It"s not just in the US, either. Netflix is expanding its account-sharing fees in other markets today. That includes Europe, where it will charge €4.99 a month for extra members, and in the UK, where it will charge £4.99 a month. The extra fees have already been in place in a few of Netflix"s markets, including Canada, where it charges CAD$7.99 a month for extra members.