Netflix to ban password sharing so accounts can’t be accessed outside your household

Netflix is cracking down on password sharing which means anyone using your account outside your household will be shut out – and Australian users will soon be affected.

The streaming giant has already introduced the new policy in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain this week and it’s only a matter of time, as soon as the coming weeks, before it hits Australia as well.

There are more than 100 million households worldwide that share their passwords so people who don’t live under the same roof can still enjoy the service.

But in a time when the share price and expectations are everything, Netflix must be seen to be growing subscriber numbers and increasing profits.

There are more than 209 million Netflix subscribers globally.

Last year Netflix generated $US31.6bn in revenue which is a 6.7 per cent increase over 2021.

In the first half of 2022, Netflix lost 1.2 million subscribers – the first time Netflix membership decreased in 10 years.

But by the end of 2022, the streaming service gained 7.7 million subscribers to more than make up for the shortfall earlier in the year.
Netflix will be asking customers with standard or premium plans to pay an extra fee per month if they want to add people who don’t live with them to their account.

In NZ, that fee is $NZ7.99 per sub account so if you have two users outside your household it will cost Kiwis $NZ15.98 per month on top of the regular subscription cost.

Australians can expect to pay a similar amount for each user not living under the same roof accessing their Netflix account.

Netflix will be able to determine from your IP address where the main account holder lives.

When Paid Sharing, as it will be called, is formally introduced, the main account holder won’t be charged a fee to begin with.

Instead, the person accessing the primary account from outside the household will be notified and asked to create their own account or join the main account for a fee.

The customers who decide to go out on their own with their own account will be able to migrate their existing Netflix profile to maintain their preferences and recommendations.

This won’t affect regular account holders being able to travel and access their accounts while vacationing.

Netflix will offer them a sign-in code to allow them to access their account on holidays for up to seven consecutive days.

Technically, password sharing goes against the Netflix terms and conditions which state users should all be based within the same household, but the company has turned a blind eye – until now.

Time will tell whether other streaming services like Disney+, Stan, Paramount Plus and others will impose the same charges for those using the service’s password away from the account holder’s residence.