Starting today, Netflix is implementing its plan to take drastic action against password sharing in all countries that are not yet part of the initial phase. In other words, password sharing is now banned almost all over the world.
This move looks like it will go in two separate ways. Some countries, such as India, Indonesia, Croatia, and Kenya, also do not offer the option to pay extra to add contacts to the same account, an option available to users in other countries. The company defended its decision, noting that market penetration in these countries is low and many have received price cuts in the past.
In other countries, account sharing between households will be active.
Netflix first introduced password sharing restriction in the US, Canada, and parts of Europe earlier this year. We understand that with the new announcement, it will expand the restrictions to more than 100 countries. Along with the restrictions, Netflix has also removed the basic ad-free subscription option in many countries. But instead, the company wants to feature the ad-supported option, which has doubled since the first quarter of 2023.
While it’s hard to comment on the long-term implications of this move, Netflix seems to be doing pretty well in the short term. Right after the ban came into effect, Netflix started gaining new subscribers. While the company lost one million subscribers in the same quarter last year, it added 5.9 million users to its streaming service in the second quarter of 2023.
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