Netflix unveils plan to charge users for password sharing from early 2023

Netflix has announced it will soon start charging customers who have joint accounts in a clamp-down on password-sharing.

From the beginning of 2023, users who share their login credentials with family and friends will be charged extra on top of their monthly subscription.

A spokesperson for the streaming service said in a statement: “After listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer the ability for borrowers to transfer their Netflix profile into their own account, and for sharers to manage their devices more easily and to create sub-accounts (‘extra member’), if they want to pay for family or friends.

“In countries with our lower-priced ad-supported plan, we expect the profile transfer option for borrowers to be especially popular.”

@charlesdeluvio / Unsplash

Netflix is yet to announce how much the extra cost will be, though trials in Latin America suggest a 25% increase, or up to £4 extra per month.

While Netflix has been famously lax about people sharing accounts across multiple households, it has been forced to clamp down on the act as it struggles to claw back revenue in the midst of a cost of living crisis and growing competition.

Netflix reportedly lost around 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, and is expected to lose even more in the coming months as people cut back on their monthly outgoings as a result of the cost of living crisis.

Earlier this year, the streaming giant announced it would be introducing a new and cheaper package with adverts to attract people back to its platform.

Malte Helmhold / Unsplash

Netflix co-founder Ted Sarandos confirmed at the Cannes Lions advertising festival that the streaming service had already started talks with potential advertisers.

He explained: “We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising’.