Netflix’s restrictive new account-sharing policy will go live in the United States in the first half of 2023. The streaming company started cracking down on password sharing in New Zealand, Portugal, Canada and Spain earlier this year.
It is fairly common for friends and family members to share a Netflix account among themselves. With its new account-sharing rules, the company wants to clamp down on such behavior.
Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing will expand to the US soon
Under Netflix’s password-sharing restriction, you are required to set a home location. You must then connect to the home Wi-Fi network once every 31 days and stream some Netflix content. If you are away from the primary location for a long time, you can request a temporary access code to continue your streaming session.
This makes sharing your Netflix account with friends and family members who don’t live in the same house difficult. The service allows you to add paid sub-accounts to bypass this restriction. In its Q1 2023 shareholder letter, Netflix says it could have implemented its password-sharing policy in the United States in the first quarter of the year. But it found “enough improvement opportunities” to shift a broader launch to Q2.
Get ready to pay for your Netflix account
Netflix’s decision to expand its password-sharing policy to the United States comes after a positive result in New Zealand, Portugal, Canada and Spain. The streaming service saw a decline in users initially in these markets. However, users who previously shared accounts with their friends or family ended up subscribing again. The company expects something similar to play out in the U.S. market.
Netflix estimates more than 100 million households are engaged in account sharing. This negatively affects the company’s growth and capability to invest more in content production.
If you live in the United States and have been leeching off your friend’s Netflix account, the time will soon come when you’ll have to start paying for the service. When that happens, you can consider subscribing to Netflix’s “Basic with ads” plan, which costs $6.99/month.
