Dutch Netflix subscribers can expect an e-mail from the streaming service from Tuesday. In it, they are told that they can no longer share their account with people outside their household. If they do, there will be an additional cost.
Netflix had been planning for some time to restrict account sharing in order to generate more revenue. She will be in action from Tuesday, the streaming platform reports in a statement on the website.
Netflix customers who share their account will receive an email stating that an account may only be used by people living at the same address. In the email, Netflix offers the option to remove devices used outside the household from the account.
If users still want to share an account with someone outside the home, they should consider adding the person to the subscription. There is an additional cost of 3.99 euros. This is only possible in the Standard (11.99 euros per month) or Premium (15.99 euros) subscription forms, not in the cheapest subscription, Basic (7.99 euros). Another possibility is to transfer the profile to a new paid membership.
Subscribers can also expect an e-mail in about a hundred other countries. If customers ignore Netflix’s message, they will eventually have to verify their household. Netflix determines the household based on the location where you log in to the platform and the IP address that your television (or other device) uses. For use at another location, the customer receives a verification code.
Other countries
Netflix knows that millions of people around the world use a family member’s or friend’s Netflix account. Although that costs revenue, the streaming service has turned a blind eye to it for years.
The company has already tested the new restrictions in various countries and is now rolling them out further. Spain was one of the first countries where Netflix implemented this policy, which has made Spanish subscribers pay more since February. Market researcher Kantar reported a month ago that the streaming platform lost more than a million users in the first three months of this year as a result.
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Netflix previously indicated, when publishing its quarterly figures, that it noticed a ‘cancellation reaction’ to the new policy. The streaming platform observed this in all markets where sharing credentials will cost more money from now on. In addition to Spain, these include Portugal, Canada and New Zealand. But Netflix assumes that this is a short-lived dip and that users who previously did not pay will eventually sign up for a paid subscription.
Watching Netflix on the road or while traveling, on your own devices or on a television in a hotel or holiday home, will remain possible for everyone in the same household, the company emphasizes.
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