Netflix Is Launching a New Way to Charge for Account Sharing Soon

Netflix will launch its new “add a home” feature in some countries on Monday, Aug. 22, cracking down on users who share their passwords with other households. The company has been teasing this change for a few months now – ever since its disastrous earnings report earlier this year. While users will still be allowed to share one account across several households, they will be charged a few extra dollars for it.

According to Netflix’s Help Center, the “add a home” feature will only launch in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to start this August. It will use “information such as IP addresses, device IDs and account activity” to detect when one account is being used in multiple places. After that, the streamer will notify the account holder and ask if they’d like to “add a home” for that location. The new “home” will cost $2.99 per month on top of the regular Netflix subscription fee.

This will allow users to compartmentalize their profiles and viewing preferences as well. Extra Netflix homes will not be limitless, but will be based on Netflix’s three subscription tiers. A Basic account will be allowed to add up to one extra home, a Standard account can add two and a Premium account can add three.

Users who access Netflix through a “home” add-on will reportedly still be able to use the app on phones, tablets, computers and other devices when they travel. With that in mind, it’s not exactly clear how Netflix will enforce the need for an additional home whenever a user logs into their account outside of their house. The streamer says that it will not add new fees to an account without approval from the account holder, but it did not specify how users would be locked out of accounts that weren’t theirs either.

This change has been teased for a long time, but Netflix began mentioning it more often after its first quarter earnings report in March. That was the first time the company had reported a net loss in subscribers rather than a net gain. It sent the stock price plummeting and caused investors to panic.

Netflix has other strategies in mind to maximize profits and reach those few who still haven’t subscribed. The company is reportedly experimenting with an ad-supported subscription tier that would cost even less than the Basic plan. Right now, there’s no word on when that might launch. It’s also not clear when the “add a home” feature may go into effect in the U.S.