Photo: Associated Press
On Wednesday, Netflix said it will begin charging users who share passwords. Customers were outraged.
Netflix said in a statement that, in the past, it has encouraged account sharing among its 222 million subscribers, with features such as profiles and multiple streams, but that the practices are “impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”
Password sharing won’t be banned, but those who do it will have to pay, Netflix said. The new plan will be tested in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Users can add up to two profiles for 2,380 Chilean pesos, 2.99 US dollars, and 7.9 Peruvian sol.
“Netflix will lose a lot of customers if they do this password sharing crackdown they plan to do,” said one Twitter user.
“How do you expect families to handle password sharing in the case of divorcees, their children, or college students away from home?” another user said. “We already pay a lot for it, now you’re just milking us for every dollar spent.”
Users who don’t pay will be able to transfer their profiles to their own accounts under the new change. Customizations like My List, viewing history, and recommendations will remain.
“We recognize that people have many entertainment choices, so we want to ensure any new features are flexible and useful for members, whose subscriptions fund all our great TV and films,” the statement said.
“Mind your business! Respectfully!” said one tweet.
Netflix has previously attempted to get users to pay for their own accounts. In March 2021, it began testing two-step verification where users would have to input a code that would be sent to the phone or email of the account owner after logging in.
Reuters reported that Netflix previously raised its US prices in October 2020 and again in January, bringing the price of its standard plans from $13.99 to $15.49.
