The latest step in Netflix’s telegraphed crackdown came on Wednesday when the company released its long-awaited password-sharing guidelines, first targeting users in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.
According to the streaming service, users in those nations will be required to select a “primary location” for their Netflix accounts and will be permitted two “sub accounts” for those who do not reside in that primary household. In addition, the business will charge a monthly fee for each additional user: Canada costs $7.99, New Zealand costs $7.99, Portugal costs 3.99 euros, and Spain costs 5.99 euros.
The director of product innovation for the company, Chengyi Long, stated, “Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films.”
Before implementing them domestically in March, Netflix is testing its password-sharing restrictions outside of the United States. The price in Canada could indicate what the program will ultimately cost when it debuts in the United States.
A new “Manage Access and Devices” page will allow users to curate who has access to their accounts, and the changes that were announced on Wednesday will immediately be implemented.
The user will be able to transfer excess profiles to a new account and avoid paying the additional fee if an account has more profiles than the maximum allowed. All of the personalized recommendations and viewing history from the original account will remain on the transferred profiles.
Based on user feedback, Netflix said it would revisit and improve the new account management page.
The streamer announced that former CEO Reed Hastings would resign following a significant increase in subscriber numbers for the fourth quarter.
With the slowdown in subscriber growth in its U.S.-Canada region, the company announced last fall that it would restrict password sharing.
