Are you still using an old roommate’s password to catch up on “Inventing Anna” or your other favorite Netflix shows? If so, the free ride may soon be over.
Netflix revealed in a blog post Wednesday that it is looking for ways to monetize password sharing on the platform, starting with a pilot program in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.
“For the last year we’ve been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more,” said Netflix.
In the post, Netflix said that “features like separate profiles and multiple streams,” intended to make it easy for members of the same household to use a Netflix account “have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared.”
Since accounts are being shared between households, it has impacted the company’s “ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members,” said Netflix.
According to Variety, Netflix’s content spending budget for 2021 was estimated at $13.6 billion and it was expected to increase to $18.9 billion by 2025. As of 2020, original content accounted for around 37.8% of the Netflix budget, said the outlet.
Netflix had more than 2,400 original titles as of last August, accounting for around 40% of its offerings, Collider reported. As of this month, Decider said the company has canceled 71 of its original series, including fan favorites such as “GLOW” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
A survey from S&P Global Market Intelligence last year found that the amount of people in the U.S. who acknowledged sharing a login “has barely exceeded 10%” from 2019 through 2021.
Currently, there are various screen limits and options for multiple profiles included in Netflix streaming plans.
“Over the next few weeks, we’ll launch and test two new features for our members in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru,” said Netflix Wednesday.
One is the “add an extra member” feature that includes the option to add an extra member to a standard or premium plan or sub accounts for non-household users at a lower price. The second is the “transfer profile to a new account,” option for basic, standard and premium plan holders that enables them to share their account to transfer profile information and viewing history either to a new account or an extra member sub account.
“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,” said Netflix. “We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world.”
Here in the U.S., we’re safe for now. It’s not clear if Netflix will attempt to track down accounts with shared users in different households.
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