What you need to know
- Netflix wants users to pay extra to share their accounts outside their households.
- The streaming giant is testing a new “feature” that lets subscribers add an extra member by paying an extra fee.
- Members will also be able to transfer profile information to a new account.
Earlier this year, streaming giant Netflix raised subscription prices across all its plans in the U.S. and a few other markets. Netflix has now announced that it will soon begin testing two new features to prevent users from sharing accounts between households.
Chengyi Long, director of product innovation at Netflix, said in a blog post that features like separate profiles and multiple streams in Standard and Premium plans have “created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared.” Long added that the sharing of accounts between households is impacting the company’s “ability to invest in great new TV and films” for its members.
Over the next few weeks, Netflix will add two new features for its members in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Members on Netflix’s Standard and Premium plans will gain the ability to add sub accounts for up to two people outside their household at $2.99 in Costa Rica, 7.9 PEN in Peru, and 2,380 CLP in Chile. Each sub account will have its own profile, personalized recommendations, login, and password.
Netflix members on Basic, Standard, and Premium plans will also be able to enable people they share their accounts with to transfer profile information to a new account or an extra member sub account. They will be able to retain their viewing history, My List, as well as personalized recommendations.
At this point, however, Netflix hasn’t any confirmed plans of expanding these features globally. The streaming giant will first ensure that the new features are “flexible and useful” for members.
While Netflix still remains the world’s most popular video streaming service, subscriber growth has slowed down significantly over the last year. Back in January, Netflix revealed that it added 8.3 million subscribers in Q4 2021, missing its own prediction.
