To help stop password sharing, Netflix is getting ready to launch a new test where primary account holders can pay a fee to allow other users outside their household’s access to the account, according to Variety.com.
Netflix has ignored password sharing for years even though it details out in its terms of service that a customer’s account “may not be shared with individuals beyond your household.”
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This is not the first test the streaming service has done to limit password sharing. In 2021, Netflix conducted a limited test asking users to enter account credentials to try and persuade those getting the service for free to make their own accounts, according to Variety.
This new test will be launching in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. Netflix will allow users to share accounts with people outside their household by “paying a bit more,” according to Chengyi Long, director of product innovation at Netflix. Long says the new options will start for those in the test in the next few weeks.
Long says “accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”
The “add an extra member” feature will allow users to add subsidiary accounts for up to two people they don’t live with, for less than the cost of a separate account, according to Variety.
The cost of an extra member would run $2.99 USD in Costa Rica, 2380 CLP in Chile and 7.9 PEN in Peru, according to Long.
“We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world,” Long wrote in a blog post.
People who share their accounts in the three test countries will be notified about the new options over the next few weeks.
According to Variety, Netflix had 221.8 million paying subscribers worldwide, with 34% of those residing in the U.S. and Canada.