Netflix looks to curb free password sharing between households

Streaming platform Netflix announced plans on Wednesday to curb free password sharing between different users’ households, starting with a trio of countries in Central and South America. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Netflix said that it will begin testing new ways to make sure users sharing an account with different households pay additional fees.

“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans. While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared,” Netflix said in its statement. “As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

The streaming service said that members on their standard and premium plans will be able to add subaccounts for up to two people they don’t live with, giving them their own profiles and passwords. 

“We recognize that people have many entertainment choices, so we want to ensure any new features are flexible and useful for members, whose subscriptions fund all our great TV and films,” the streaming service added in its statement.

Netflix said it will launch the new features in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru in the next few weeks. 

“We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world,” it added. 

Netflix previously tested a feature that prompted password freeloaders to reenter their credentials in an effort to encourage them to create their own accounts, NBC News noted.