In an unprecedented move, the streaming service powerhouse, Netflix, has announced plans to restrict users from sharing passwords freely if they’re not residing within the same household.
This move, revealed in their most recent announcement on May 24, is certain to reshape the usage dynamics of the popular streaming platform.
The company’s latest post explicitly stated, “Starting from today, we will begin sending this email to members in Thailand who share their Netflix account with people not in the same household: Netflix accounts are for use within the same household.”
In terms of practical implementation, subscribers who are currently on the platform and are not from the same household will be required to pay an additional fee.
Specifically, these subscribers will be subject to an added charge of THB 90 to maintain their access, a move which will undoubtedly impact the financial decisions of many users.
The decision to curb password sharing comes on the heels of Netflix’s significant loss of subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
The company witnessed a staggering decrease of a million subscribers during these initial three months.
Netflix has made it clear that this strategy is part of a broader initiative to withstand increasing competition from rival streaming services such as Disney, Hulu, and HBO.
The struggle for subscriber retention in the intensely competitive market is getting tougher by the day.
This crackdown on account sharing isn’t a new development. Netflix first initiated this policy in Latin America in 2022 and subsequently rolled it out to other countries including Canada and New Zealand.
As of now, the practice has reached Thailand, ushering in a new era of account reckoning for Netflix users here.
With this move, Netflix is sending a strong signal to its user base globally – as the platform continues to grow and evolve, so too do its rules and regulations. The age of free password sharing may well be coming to an end.
