Netflix India ends password sharing outside households – Here’s how it will work

• Netflix has announced that it is starting password sharing restrictions in India.
• The company will not allow users to pay to share their account with their friends and relatives.
• The company had earlier announced paid sharing in countries like the United States.

Netflix on Thursday announced that it is bringing additional restrictions on account and password sharing in India. The streaming service giant has been cracking down on password sharing globally for some time now, restricting users from sharing passwords with people other than their family.

“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” reads the Netflix statement.

The company will start sending out emails, informing users that the account is meant for a single household and members outside the household can transfer their profiles to a new account and get a separate subscription.

It is quite common for users in India to share their Netflix account with their friends, splitting the cost of the account between two to three users. The new measures by the company will now put an end to this.

It is noteworthy that Netflix had however announced paid sharing, allowing users to pay an additional amount to share their account with other users in markets like the US.

How does Netflix identify password sharing?

Netflix identifies password sharing by using the user’s IP address, device ID and account activity from devices signed into the account. The company’s identification of the IP address makes it difficult for users outside the primary household to use the account.

Netflix will require users to enter access codes to get access outside the primary household for up to seven days. Additionally, users will have to connect to the primary household’s Wi-Fi at least once every 31 days.

Netflix while travelling?

Netflix has said that this move will not impact users who use the app while travelling. While it is not clear how the company plans on enforcing this, it will likely use the device ID to verify the user’s identity.

Netflix in a letter to its shareholders had said that it will not offer paid sharing in countries like India as it had recently slashed the prices of subscriptions in these markets. The company’s premium plan that offers 4K content and allows up to 4 devices at once costs Rs 649 per month and is the costliest streaming service in the country.

Crackdown boosts business

Netflix has announced that its crackdown on password sharing across the world has boosted its business. The company has revealed that it gained 5.9 million new subscribers in the Q2 2023. Interestingly, the company had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade in Q1 2022.

"Revenue in each region is now higher than pre-launch, with sign-ups already exceeding cancellations," the company said in an earnings release.

"The cancel reaction was low and while we're still in the early stages of monetization, we're seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature," the company added.

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