Due to Netflix’s recent crackdowns on shares, there have been persistent rumors that the company intends to ban password sharing completely. Even though the official terms of use for Netflix have always stated that it is against the rules to share passwords outside of a household, this practice has been accepted for years. Netflix has only recently begun experimenting with ways to restrict account use to one designated family. The streamer informed shareholders in a letter dated January 19 that this agreement would be terminated later in Q1 of 23. With the company requires individuals to pay to share accounts.
To encourage borrowers to sign up for their subscriptions rather than requesting payment from the actual owner, Netflix is considering charging account sharers a fee that is only marginally lower than the $6.99 ad-supported plan. Netflix will use Mac and IP address tracking to determine whether an account’s login information is shared beyond one allowed household, according to a recent Techrader article. Once the new policy against understanding and password sharing is fully implemented, the service’s blinders regarding VPN use may come off.
According to the Variety article about the new policy’s South America trial runs, Standard and Premium plan accounts could add additional users for less than the cost of a new complete account. Additionally, each sub-account will have its watchlist and password, allowing viewers to continue watching without paying the total price. Since October last year, Netflix has made it possible for users to move their existing profile to a new sub-account.
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The streamer is hoping that by making account conversions simple, they can make more people pay a little extra and avoid losing access when the password-sharing crackdown kicks in later this spring.