Was Netflix bluffing with the end of shared accounts? For many people nothing has changed

Two months ago an earthquake shook Netflix users when the company announced with great fanfare the end of shared accounts.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
11 April 2023 Tuesday 02:25
20 Reads
Was Netflix bluffing with the end of shared accounts? For many people nothing has changed

Two months ago an earthquake shook Netflix users when the company announced with great fanfare the end of shared accounts. The American company announced that it was going to limit the possibility that several people who live in the same household could use the same account.

Despite the fact that this measure began to be considered in 2021, it was not until the first months of 2023 that the first notices began to reach Netflix users in Spain. However, the ban on sharing the account is being implemented very slowly and unevenly, so it is not yet clear that the platform will implement it globally.

The intention of Netflix is ​​that each household has its own account. However, this runs into the reality of the platform in Spain. According to the same company, 60% of Netflix accounts in our country are shared.

In this same sense, according to a recent study, the vast majority of users would stop paying for Netflix if they could not continue sharing their account with other users.

Despite the fact that the notices sent by the platform to various users have gone viral on the networks, it seems that most Netflix customers can still share their account freely with people who do not live in the same space.

With the entry into force of this new Netflix policy, the only legal way to share an account is with the creation of extra profiles, which cost 5.99 euros more than the usual price of the subscription.

Netflix assured weeks ago that these shared payment accounts would begin to be implemented globally during the first quarter of 2023, although once this period has passed, the measure is still in a very initial phase.

According to Netflix, the limitation of shared accounts has been implemented in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, New Zealand, Peru and Portugal. However, this implementation is being very progressive.

In addition, if when the notice appears on our device, we select the option 'I'm traveling' we can defer the payment for sharing the account for 14 more days.

This lack of specificity in its measures suggests that perhaps Netflix is ​​rethinking its shared account policy out of fear that a harsh application of limitations could make it lose customers to other audiovisual content platforms.