Netflix Begins Crackdown on Password Sharing in US

Netflix's long-awaited crackdown on password sharing has officially arrived in the U.S., as the streamer notified subscribers about the new policy this week in an email. The company, which launched "paid sharing" this year in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain after limited trial runs, moves to limit free password sharing shortly after it launched in fall a less expensive, ad-supported subscription option. 

In the email subscribers were sent from Netflix, the company begins by saying that a Netflix account "is for you and the people you live with – your household." The streamer continues, "You can easily watch Netflix on the go and when you travel," suggesting that subscribers take action to see who is accessing their account and even recommending that they "sign out of devices that shouldn't have access and consider changing your password."

Netflix added in an accompanying statement, "We recognize that our members have many entertainment choices. It's why we continue to invest heavily in a wide variety of new films and TV shows – so whatever your taste, mood or language and whoever you're watching with, there's always something satisfying to watch on Netflix."

Netflix currently offers the option for subscribers to its two highest subscription tiers to buy additional users for $7.99 a month on an ad-free plan. The Standard tier, which is priced at $15.49 a month, allows subscribers to purchase one additional user, while the Premium tier, at $19.99 a month, allows the purchase of two additional subscriber add-ons. Subscribers to the $6.99-a-month ad-supposed plan are not permitted to add paid users.

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in December that the initial response to paid password sharing proves it is similar to "the way you manage a price increase" when it comes to managing subscribers. "Consumers aren't going to love it right out of the gate," he admitted, as per Deadline, "but we need to show them why they should see value."

Netflix's big password-sharing crackdown emails began rolling out the same day Warner Bros. Discovery launched its new streaming player Max, which offers the combination of HBO Max and Discovery+. Monday, Paramount also announced that its next chapter for streaming, Paramount+ with Showtime, will cost $4 less than Max's ad-free tier.