Netflix Tests Charging a Fee to Share Accounts

• Netflix will charge an additional fee to users who share their passwords with people living in other households.
• The company will test two new features: adding an extra member and transferring profiles to a new account.
• Netflix said they will run the test only in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru for the time being.

Netflix will begin testing the introduction of a fee for primary account holders who let people in other households use their accounts. The streaming giant hopes that levying an additional fee will put an end to the subscription sharing problem that deprives the service of revenue, but at the same time accepts that people need to share access to their accounts with family members. Netflix also said that it was impacting the company's ability to invest in new TV and films.

The recent crackdown comes after it saw a stock dive on quarterly results that indicated decreased subscriber growth. Besides introducing this new free, they thought of the possibility of introducing an ad-supported plan for a lower subscription fee.

The streaming platform will be testing out two new features for its members in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru in the coming days. The first one is "Add an Extra Member," where users only on Netflix's Standard and Premium plans will be able to add two sub-accounts for people they don't live with. Each will come with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login, and password. This will be available at an additional cost of 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru.

The second feature that Netflix will test is "Transfer Profile to a New Account," applicable for all users with Basic, Standard, and Premium plans. This feature will let users transfer a profile's information to a new account or add an Extra Member sub-account. This would preserve their viewing history, My List, and personalized recommendations info.

Netflix did not mention if they plan to test these features in the US anytime soon. Earlier this year, they raised their subscription prices in the US to "continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options." Their current plans range from $9.99 to $19.99 a month. 

Netflix had always taken an easygoing approach to customers sharing passwords with family and friends. The company has made it easier for people living together to share their Netflix accounts, with features such as separate profiles and multiple streams. On the other hand, the platform had an aggressive approach by blocking residential IP addresses used by some VPNs as a workaround to detection, affecting non-VPN users as well.

Also read: Netflix and Disney+ Lead in Streaming Recognition and Understanding, Report Finds