According to a source, Netflix’s test to cut down on password sharing has left some users perplexed. In March, the streaming service began testing password-sharing solutions in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica, forcing members in these regions to pay an extra price to enable streaming for those outside their homes who use the same account.
A survey was conducted with over a dozen Netflix members in Peru and discovered that most consumers were not properly informed of the policy change by an email or notification sent by Netflix – not even two months after the initial announcement. The outlet also discovered that Netflix’s level of enforcement differed by the user, with some users on shared accounts stating that they ignored validation prompts without punishment to the account owner. Another user stated that they were unaware of any policy changes and continued to share their account without incident.
There’s also some ambiguity surrounding Netflix’s definition of a “household” (as some people regard their close family members to be household members), and it appears that Netflix is aware of the discrepancy. According to an unnamed customer service agent in Peru, she has been asked to supply verification numbers to customers who call in about someone in their family accessing their account from another place. Members who live outside of a subscriber’s home can continue to use the shared account for free.
The cost of an additional account is cheaper than the cost of opening a new account (which is supposed to make it seem more like a deal, and less like a way for Netflix to eke out a little more subscriber growth). Netflix costs an additional 2.380 CLP ($2.89 USD) in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN ($2.13 USD) in Peru to add up to two users who are not members of the account holder’s household.
Netflix reported losing customers for the first time in almost a decade in its most recent financial report, yet it still has 74.58 million users in the US and Canada and 222 million globally. The corporation will go through several changes as it seeks new subscribers and tries to keep the ones it already has in the face of increasing competition. Netflix executives reportedly told employees that the firm will provide a lower, ad-supported plan within the year, providing a cheaper alternative for long-term members to stay in the fold after nearly yearly price hikes. It’s also looking into live streaming to compete with the ever-expanding Disney Plus.
