In 2023, the party is over. Netflix will phase out account sharing starting January 1. What will change? How much will you have to pay? Here's everything you need to know.
“Don't get me wrong, I don't think consumers are going to love this at first.” That's what Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos explained to the Wall Street Journal when he talked about charging for account sharing on his platform.
If multiple sources close to the matter are to be believed, the end of this practice is scheduled for January 2023, as early as January 1 in the United States. Until now, a subscriber who paid the highest Netflix price could share his account with other users in the same family, in the same household.
Yes, but here's the thing: although aware that this account sharing has largely crossed the borders of the household, Netflix has let it happen. Until now.
One third of users use account sharing
Earlier this year, during a meeting with company executives, boss Reed Hastings called for an end to this costly practice for the company.
According to his estimates, 100 million users watch their programs using the password of a relative, without the latter being part of the same household. This represents about a third of the platform's subscribers, based on the 223 million subscribers announced by the company.
Above all, in 2022, after two years of Covid favorable to its growth, Netflix recorded two catastrophic quarters with the loss of millions of subscribers. Historical.
Faced with the descending curves of its number of paying subscribers, Netflix has therefore implemented several levers of growth: the diversification of its offer with gaming and sports, the addition of a subscription with advertising and … the end of account sharing.
How does it work and how much does it cost?
The implementation of the end of account sharing requires several adjustments. First, Netflix will have to change its terms of use to apply its restrictions. Because blocking accounts shared outside of the home involves studying several private information: the IP address used, the identifiers and, above all, the activity of each account. Above all, Netflix has to find a solution to prevent users from circumventing the blocking by using a VPN.
Netflix had even thought of adding content available for rent (VOD) payable by the unit, as Amazon can do on Prime Video. In this way, it played on the fear of users who pay for others to see attached users touch their wallet by renting content. Eventually, the idea was abandoned for fear of making the service unreadable.
For those taking advantage of account sharing, two solutions will be possible: either continue to use the codes of a third party account, in which case you will have to pay. According to the latest information from a source very close to the file, Netflix will ask a price close to the cheapest offer for each user going through another account. A way to encourage them to opt for a subscription of their own.
Nice, Netflix has even developed a feature to transfer a profile to a new account to facilitate this transition.
So let's meet in 2023 to see to what extent these new provisions will apply. With the risk, not negligible, that subscribers will flee.
Summary
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