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Netflix's promised password-sharing crackdown, which is currently being trialed in a handful of countries, is set to go global very soon.
"In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results. We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2," reads the company's Q1 2023 shareholder report. In the financial year, Q2 is the months of April, May, and June – so the rollout is imminent.
The scheme is currently being trialed in Latin America, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal, where only those living in an account holder's "primary location" are able to access the streamer. To prevent account holders from sharing with people outside their household, users will need to log in via their primary location's WiFi and watch something every 31 days or risk their account being blocked (unless they're traveling).
The only way to share your account under these new rules is to add extra users to your account for a small fee. This cost is still confirmed for the US and the UK, but it's currently $7.99 a month per person in Canada, $7.99 in New Zealand, €3.99 in Portugal, and €5.99 in Spain.
The streamer also recently introduced a cheaper, ad-supported subscription and, according to the shareholder report, it's a success. "Given current healthy performance and trajectory of our per-member advertising economics, particularly in the US, we’re upgrading our ads experience with more streams and improved video quality to attract a broader range of consumers," the report reads.
