Netflix crack down on password sharing begins in India
Following up on a global crackdown, Netflix has announced that it has ended password sharing in India, adding that only members of a household will be able to access a single account. So, no more will only one person pay the subscription fee while numerous others use the account to stream their favourite TV shows and films.
As part of a global crackdown on the practice of password sharing with people beyond the immediate family of the user, Netflix informed that starting today, Netflix accounts are intended for exclusive use within a single household. This crackdown is coming to the Indian market, as well as other regions such as Indonesia, Croatia, and Kenya, as the streaming major looks to boost the growth of its revenue in the second half of the year. Emails will soon be sent to Indian members who are sharing Netflix accounts outside their household.
The company announced in its letter to shareholders that the “extra member” option will not be offered in these markets, given that price cuts had recently arrived in the regions and Netflix was yet to penetrate deeply into said regions. The company had earlier introduced paid account sharing in over 100 countries (including the US, the UK, and more) – enabling users to continue sharing their Netflix account with people they don’t live with, for an additional fee, of course.
In a letter to shareholders, Netflix stated that revenue and paid memberships in these regions were higher when compared to the numbers before paid sharing was rolled out. The numbers speak for themselves – the streaming giant added 5.9 million members in the second quarter of the year, marking a steep contrast from the one million it lost in the same quarter in the previous year. As of Q2 2023, Netflix had 238.4 million subscribers, while its revenue for the same period amounted to $8.2 billion and it pocketed a profit of $1.5 billion. For the upcoming quarter, Netflix projects $8.5 billion in revenue on the back of growth of average paid memberships.
If you are wondering what users outside the household, now that they can no longer stream their favourite content for free, will now do, the answer is a simple one. Under Netflix’s new stance on the matter, those users will have to transfer their profile to a new account (for which they will have to pay), and consider changing their password.
“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” Netflix wrote in its official statement on the matter.
“We recognise that our members have many entertainment choices. It is why we continue to invest heavily in a wide variety of new films and TV shows — so whatever your taste, mood or language and whoever you are watching with, there is always something satisfying to watch on Netflix,” it added.
