There is currently a lot of confusion and worry surrounding Netflix’s daring move to threaten password sharing. After incorrectly announcing that users would have to log in to their account on their home wifi once a month, it’s no wonder we are all confused.
The streaming giant originally trialled the anti-password sharing tactic in Latin America, and, since the 8th of February, it has now been implemented in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.
The new system involves members setting up a ‘primary location’ for their account - anyone on that account that does not live in this location has the option to transfer their profile data to a new account. Netflix have said this won’t affect people using their account when travelling on holiday, though it is not currently clear how this is going to work.
I’m sure people will find loopholes
In addition, there is an option to pay an extra monthly fee to use a Netflix account from a different household. In a cost of living crisis, this is quite a bold move considering how much their prices have gone up over the years already.
Netflix insists that the issue of password-sharing affecting their revenue is impacting their ‘ability to invest in great new TV and films’. However, in recent years there have been several fan-favourite shows cancelled after just one season despite backlash. It’s therefore starting to become difficult to believe that Netflix truly cares about its paying members as much as they claim to.
There are many reasons why people use their Netflix accounts outside of their home, such as using handheld devices to watch their favourite shows whilst out and about. Surely Netflix should want to encourage this, but introducing a location restriction is going to cause unnecessary hassle that will simply put people off. Moreover, the move threatens university students who are constantly travelling between their home and place of study - why would Netflix want to alienate such a significant part of their audience?
It seems that Netflix has really changed its tune, as it used to embrace password sharing as a marketing tactic, tweeting in March 2017: ‘Love is sharing a password’.
The new system, which has inevitably received a lot of backlash, is going to be rolled out more broadly by the end of this month, which is most likely going to include the UK. With so much competition nowadays, I have a feeling that this change could be detrimental to Netflix, as they will lose many subscribers to platforms like Disney+. No one is happy about it, so I’m sure people will find loopholes…