Netflix says strict new password sharing rules were posted in error
New Netflix rules that would have enforced a limitation on users' sharing passwords are reportedly a mistake and don't apply in the US -- for now.
Netflix logo
Netflix has long been planning to cut down on password sharing, or letting friends share one paid account. It already added a feature where subscribers could effective eject other people from their account.
The company appeared to go further, however, with the inclusion in its help pages of a new set of rules.
Broadly, anyone at a subscriber's physical address could continue using the service. But the paying subscriber would have to confirm every 31 days that a user away from their residence -- such as at college -- was part of the household.
Now, however, those rules have been removed from Netflix's help pages. According to The Streamable, Netflix says it was all a mistake -- for the United States.
"For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, went live in other countries," a Netflix spokesperson told the publication. "We have since updated it."
So these rules are in place, just in those countries. But Netflix estimates that 100 million users are not paying, and it is also losing subscribers, to the tune of 200,000 in just the first quarter of 2022.
Consequently, Netflix has said it will end password sharing in early 2023. So whether this was a mistake or it was some test of public response, these rules or similar ones are likely to be coming soon.
Separately, as another part of attempting to stem the loss to non-paying subscribers, Netflix launched a new, lower-cost $6.99/month Basic tier with adverts, in November 2022.
Read on AppleInsider
Netflix logo
Netflix has long been planning to cut down on password sharing, or letting friends share one paid account. It already added a feature where subscribers could effective eject other people from their account.
The company appeared to go further, however, with the inclusion in its help pages of a new set of rules.
Broadly, anyone at a subscriber's physical address could continue using the service. But the paying subscriber would have to confirm every 31 days that a user away from their residence -- such as at college -- was part of the household.
Now, however, those rules have been removed from Netflix's help pages. According to The Streamable, Netflix says it was all a mistake -- for the United States.
"For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, went live in other countries," a Netflix spokesperson told the publication. "We have since updated it."
So these rules are in place, just in those countries. But Netflix estimates that 100 million users are not paying, and it is also losing subscribers, to the tune of 200,000 in just the first quarter of 2022.
Consequently, Netflix has said it will end password sharing in early 2023. So whether this was a mistake or it was some test of public response, these rules or similar ones are likely to be coming soon.
Separately, as another part of attempting to stem the loss to non-paying subscribers, Netflix launched a new, lower-cost $6.99/month Basic tier with adverts, in November 2022.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I wonder - if like PayPal - they’ll just stuff it back in once the public excitement dies down?
So given the obnoxiousness of paying extra just to get the full- technical quality content considered routine by every other streaming provider, it adds insult to injury that they want to restrict who can use the three extra streams included in the package-deal subscription price.
Netflix could solve their problems by including 4K UHD at all levels, and price their subscription tiers purely based on number of simultaneous streams allowed, without regard to where those streams are accessed.
What will it cost them in labor and operational expenses, along with public ill-will, just for them to police who gets to use the extra streams in the 4K UHD tier? Why should it matter whether it's someone in the same physical house, a kid at college, a mother-in-law down the road, or a sub-let to a friend who wants to split the cost?
A simple solution would just be to have a base price, and then charge a bit more for each additional ‘viewer’ added to the plan. Then whatever that number is, is the max simultaneous streams associated with that account. Who cares where they are or who they are? They could all be at the same house, or each in a different city. A family of 5 could pick a 3x subscription, and maybe they’d be fine if all 5 couldn’t be on at once, while another family would buy 5x.
Are they just making this way too hard?
It’s their business and they own it. What they should or shouldn’t be doing is entirely their choice. We can make suggestions to Netflix just like can make suggestions to our neighbors on how they should raise their kids. Good luck with that. Neither of them are in any way obliged to listen to any of what we suggest.
I too find it disingenuous that Netflix implicitly encouraged account sharing to build their subscriber numbers and company value and later reneged on the practice. Maybe there’s a legal way like a class action to force them to grandfather in free sharing for those who signed up for Netflix during Netflix’s “permissive” period of time? But trying to tell them how to run their business is a dead end strategy unless you’re a stockholder or willing to build your own business to take them down in the competitive marketplace with what you believe is a better alternative.