Netflix will crack down on password sharing this summer

Netflix’s long-awaited crackdown on password sharing is finally coming to the U.S., the streamer said on Tuesday.

Netflix originally planned to roll out “paid sharing,” an update designed to covert account-sharers into paying users, sometime in the first quarter of 2023. However, the company now says it’ll introduce that change a little later, sometime before June 30, 2023.

The update is not limited to the U.S., Netflix added: “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.”

Netflix’s quest to boost revenues by curbing password sharing kicked off earlier this year in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. In these countries, Netflix now requires paying users to set a “primary location” for their account. When someone they don’t live with uses their account, Netflix has started prompting them to “buy an extra member” — up to two. The extra fee varies by country; for example, it’s CAD $7.99 in Canada and €3.99 in Portugal.

Netflix has floated this plan for years. On Tuesday, the company told investors that it thinks the change “will result in a better outcome for both our members and our business.” The streaming giant has recently chalked the change up as an opportunity to clarify “confusion about when and how you can share Netflix,” but make no mistake, this is a crackdown.

Netflix will crack down on password sharing this summer by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

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