Netflix cracks down on password sharing Business

It’s a loophole that students away from home and spendthrift ex-lovers have been taking advantage of for years, but the days of downloading someone else’s Netflix account for free may be over after the giant streaming said it would ask customers who share their passwords with other households to pay extra.

It is testing technology that will ask subscribers to pay an additional fee if it detects people at multiple addresses logging into the same account.

Although Netflix’s terms and conditions prohibit users living separately from sharing an account, it has long condoned the practice, leading to an explosion in password sharing.

Its most expensive tier allows up to four screens to watch different shows or movies at the same time, meaning anyone with access to a viewer’s password could watch for free without interrupting the account holder.

Netflix said it will soon start testing new features that allow subscribers to pay to add “sub-accounts” for up to two people they don’t live with.

It is testing the changes in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, with additional accounts costing 30-40% of a basic subscription.

In the UK, a charge of £2.99 a month would mean that a subscriber to Netflix’s most expensive package would pay £21.97 a month for two people living elsewhere.

Users living away from the account holder would also have the option of purchasing their own subscription account and transferring their profiles to the new account.

Netflix said people sharing accounts while living apart meant it could afford to spend less on production.

“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account with features like separate profiles and multiple streams,” said Chengyi Long, its director of product innovation.

“While they have been extremely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are shared between households, which impacts our ability to invest in new television programs and films for our members.”

She said the company would review test results in all three countries before deciding whether or not to make the switch elsewhere.

Netflix, which is used by more than half of UK households, recently raised prices in Britain to between £6.99 and £15.99 per month.