Natalia Chi
Netflix plans prevent users from sharing passwords for free by the end of March this year, according to a recent announcement by the company in a letter to shareholders.
In October, the streaming giant it said it would start charging subscribers who share their accounts but did not provide a specific date or information for when the new policy would be enacted.
In a fourth-quarter earnings report released late last week, Netflix revealed it would roll out paid sharing across the platform in the latter part of the first quarter.
“Today’s widespread account sharing (over 100 million households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders. While our terms of use limit Netflix use to one household, we recognize that this is a change for members who share their account more broadly.”
“So we’ve been hard at work creating additional new features that enhance the Netflix experience, including the ability for subscribers to check which devices are using their account and transfer a profile to a new account.”
The company noted that the new policy would likely lead to “negatively impacted” “short-term engagement” as some users stop consuming content on the platform due to losing a free account.
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However Netflix secure shareholders that despite the new changes, engagement will grow “over time as we continue to deliver a broad range of programs and borrowers sign up for their own accounts.”
