Netflix will soon put an end to password sharing, which will be difficult for both users and the streaming empire.
According to the researchers at Netflix Inc., they detected password sharing is a significant issue in reduced membership despite increased viewership. As per the data collected by the firm, over 100 million Netflix subscribers currently access the site using credentials they borrow, frequently from friends or relatives.
The business was unsure of how to solve it without offending customers; however, the COVID lockdown in 2020 resulted in a surge of new users, and the initiative to carefully monitor sharing fizzled. At the beginning of 2022, co-founder Reed Hastings told senior executives at a company gathering outside of Los Angeles that the pandemic boom had overshadowed the risk of sharing login details and had delayed it for too long.
Beginning in 2023, Netflix has acknowledged that it will cease this cooperation and start charging those who share accounts by distributing passwords for the OTT platform. The company anticipates starting the change's rollout in the U.S. early in the year; however, Netflix hasn't specified a launch date or price for its password-sharing plan.
According to the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the practice of password sharing may result in criminal proceedings for streaming accounts, which may constitute "secondary copyright infringement."
The primary objective of Netflix is to encourage consumers to limit their own self-sharing without pressuring them to do so. In an effort to attract new customers searching for a deal on more expensive ad-free plans, a $6.99 monthly ad-supported tier was introduced in November.