Netflix lets you share passwords with friends only if you pay more

Netflix now goes after users in the US who share their accounts and passwords with friends and others outside of the primary account holder's home. The streaming platform began cracking down on password sharing in select Latin American countries and then expanded the experiment to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain in February. It is not available in India as the company focuses on increasing its user base in India with its ad-supported plans.

While users in the US will now have to pay more if the primary account holder wishes to share the account with friends and family, in a blog post, the company notes: "A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices."

How much more do Netflix users must pay to share their accounts?

Netflix notes that users can share their Netflix account with someone who lives in the same house. However, users must pay $7.99 (roughly Rs 661) monthly. Readers should note that this price is only specific to the US market and that Netflix will adopt different strategies depending on the markets.

The Verge explains that users with the two cheapest Netflix plans – Basic or Standard with ads, which cost $9.99 (Rs 830) and $6.99 (Rs 589) per month, respectively – cannot add another member. However, users with the standard Netflix plan of $15.49 or Rs 1290 per month can add an additional member for $7.99 monthly. Users with premium Netflix subscriptions that promise 4K streaming can add two additional members for the same $7.99 monthly.

Netflix is also introducing this update in the UK, and users must pay roughly Rs 510. Netflix advises users to continue to control freeloaders by going to "manage access and devices" in the Settings menu. Here, a subscriber can check all the devices using one Netflix account.

In its latest quarter results, Netflix suggested that the company anticipates setbacks as they arise after users share accounts with others. However, the company expects long-term growth. Countries like India may need a different strategy for the company as the company is experiencing tremendous growth, given the size of the population and a high smartphone adoption rate. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos also met IB Minister Anurag Thakur in February. Sarandos had told the union minister that Indian regional content was the most viewed globally.