Netflix is testing a crackdown on password sharing

Bad news for all the Netflix password sharers out there: Netflix may soon be trying to raise your subscription fee.

As Netflix seeks to crack down on password sharing, the streamer announced Wednesday it's running a test prompting users to pay more to share their account with people outside their household, Variety reports.

Netflix's terms of service state users may not share their account with anyone outside their household, though many subscribers do so anyway. On Wednesday, Netflix said accounts being shared between households is "impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members," so it's exploring ways to "enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Namely, Netflix is testing a feature that would allow users to "add sub accounts" of up to two people they don't live with. Doing so would mean paying more, although less than a separate Netflix plan. It's also testing a way for users to transfer their profile into a completely new Netflix account while keeping their list, history, and recommendations the same.

In 2021, some users ran into a message telling them that "if you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching," and users were asked to verify their account. At the time, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said the company tests "many things" but would "never roll something out that feels like turning the screws."

For now, Netflix's new test is underway only in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, and it's not clear whether the features will be implemented elsewhere. "We'll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world," Netflix said.