“Netflix Offers Option to Remove Users Outside Household in Effort to Prevent Account Sharing and Increase Revenue”

Sharing a Netflix account can save costs, but as a result the American streaming service misses out on income. Millions of customers can therefore expect an email from this week in which Netflix offers the option to remove users who fall outside the household from the account. If they don’t, they can add someone to the account for an additional cost of 3.99 euros.

A Netflix account is for you and the people you live with. Customers who hitch a ride but don’t pay will be notified with payment options so they can look further.

Netflix writes on its website that the streaming service uses IP addresses, device registrations and account activity to determine who belongs to a household. If structurally viewed at other locations, a message will appear stating that the device is not part of the Netflix household and viewing will be blocked unless action is taken (read: docked).

Earlier, the streaming service already came up with a new feature to discourage sharing passwords. This feature makes it easy to let users who ‘piggyback’ take out their own subscription. The Profile Transfer option allows users to move their profile to a new Netflix account without losing their viewing history, saved titles, recommendations, games or settings.

In Belgium, too, the surcharge will now be EUR 3.99 per account if you share your subscription with non-residents. Spain was one of the first countries where Netflix implemented this policy, which has led many Spanish subscribers to pay more since February. Earlier this spring, the measures were also introduced in Portugal, Canada and New Zealand, among others.