Netflix crackdown on password sharing has created subscribers surge in other countries
Netflix is to stop account sharing in India and other markets like Indonesia, Croatia, and Kenya starting July 20. The company is taking a different strategy towards addressing the account sharing problem in India and the remaining countries where it hasn’t rolled out paid sharing, a feature that allows users to shell out an extra fee to continue sharing their Netflix account with people they don’t share home with.
Netflix announced on Wednesday that its crackdown on password sharing has been a huge success, resulting in an additional 5.9 million subscribers. In June Netflix ended up with 238.4 million subscribers worldwide, and the company expects similar subscriber growth for the July-September period.
The nearly 6 million subscriber jump is Netflix’s best second-quarter performance since adding 10 million subscribers in 2020, under drastically different circumstances.
Netflix management noted that the crackdown on password sharing is resulting in a “healthy conversation of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships.”
Netflix also clarified that the crackdown on password sharing will now be extended to all markets worldwide, including India, Indonesia, and Kenya. Netflix also emphasized that accounts are meant to be used exclusively within a single household.
The statement by Netflix read, “Starting today, we will be sending this email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India," Netflix said in an official statement.
Netflix has introduced new lower plans which supports ad and then began blocking the sharing of passwords which is estimated to allow around 100 million people to watch its content for free.
The crackdown began last year and was extended to many countries, including the US. This move has forced users who share an account outside the same household to pay an additional fee, which in turn has prompted users to sign up for the cheaper basic advertising tier. In a bid to push users towards its ad-supported tier or premium plans and boost revenues, the company has removed its $9.99 monthly basic plan in US and UK.