Netflix is planning to put an end to password sharing in early 2023. A new report from The Wall Street Journal says it will be a challenge for both viewers and the popular streaming service.
Password sharing has long been a thorn in the side of Netflix, as password sharing directly affects the company’s profits, and the streamer has been exploring various ways to put an end to the practice.
Now, with revenue falling this year and Netflix’s first subscriber loss in 10 years, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings decided it was time to act on the issue. So, starting in 2023 Netflix plans on charging an add-on fee for password sharing. The streamer has been testing $3 add-on fees for sharing passwords in some Latin American countries.
In these countries, anyone outside of a subscriber household must provide a verification code to have access to the service. Netflix repeatedly asks for the code until a monthly fee is paid to add the extra viewer.
Netflix will enforce password-sharing rules by monitoring IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity. As an effort to keep from alienating customers, Netflix may slowly phase out password sharing rather than putting an immediate halt to it.
Netflix reportedly has also considered adding pay-per-view content that could make users reluctant to share their passwords with people who might rent content, but Netflix ultimately decided not to go in that direction.
While Netflix has never officially allowed password sharing, it has looked the other way for years. An estimated 222 million paying households share passwords with an additional 100 million households that Netflix definitely wants to collect money from.