Netflix Inc has started expanding its crackdown on password sharing to the United States and more than 100 other countries, alerting users that their accounts cannot be shared for free outside of their households.
The streaming video pioneer has been looking for new ways to make money as it faces signs of market saturation, with efforts including limits on password borrowing and a new ad-supported option, Reuters reported.
Netflix on Tuesday said it was sending emails about account sharing to customers in 103 countries and territories, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil.
The emails state that a Netflix account should only be used in one household. Paying customers can add a member outside of their homes for an additional fee. In the United States, the fee is $8 per month.
Members can also transfer a person’s profile so the user can keep their viewing history and recommendations.
Netflix last year said it was going to limit account sharing and was testing various approaches in some markets.
The company had estimated that more than 100 million households had supplied their log-in credentials to friends and family outside their homes.
As of the end of March, Netflix’s paying customers totaled 232.5 million globally. Under the new policies, people within the same household can continue sharing a Netflix account and can use it on various devices when traveling, the company said.
Meanwhile, Indianbroadcastingworld.com could not confirm whether the password sharing crackdown has been introduced in India also. Few people, having Netflix accounts, when contacted by Indianbroadcastingworld.com said they have not yet received any mail from the streamer on the password sharing restrictions.
In India, despite Netflix being one of the costliest streaming services and having invested heavily in local content, it lags behind in subscriber numbers when compared to Disney+Hotstar, SonyLIV and Amazon Prime Video.