Netflix wants users to stop sharing password with friends, starts asking some to pay for extra users
India Today
Netflix will be adding a new “Extra Member“ feature, which will allow the account holders to add up to two additional (non-family) members to their account.
It seems that Netflix has found a way to stop people from sharing passwords of their accounts. In a blog post, the company announced that it will be testing a new feature in a few countries to curb the trend of sharing a Netflix account with friends or family members.
In a blog post, Netflix explains that features like separate profiles and multiple streams in top-end plans have confused people as to how and when Netflix accounts can be shared. The company says accounts are not intended to be used between households as the password-sharing trend is impacting its revenue, and its ability to invest in original content.
Chengyi Long, director of product innovation, says, “While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”
Netflix will start testing two new features in the coming weeks. One of them is “Extra Member,“ which will allow the account holders to add up to two additional (non-family) members to their account. But, this isn’t going to be for free and Netflix will charge per member. The charges start from 2,380 CLP (around Rs 225.79) in Chile, USD $2.99 in Costa Rica, and 7.9 Nuevo Soles in Peru. In addition to this, the service will even provide each member with their own username and password.
In order to make it easier for users, Netflix has also announced that it let all the existing profiles to be transferred out to another account, or they can also switch to an existing Extra Member sub-account, so that the watch history, favorites, and personalized content are not lost.
No, the feature is currently not available for Indians. But, there are chances that Netflix might bring it to India as well after successfully launching it in some countries. In a new blog post, the company has confirmed that the feature will first be made available to those who are based in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Currently, the prices for Netflix start from Rs 149 in India, which is for the mobile version.
