Searches for ‘cancel Netflix account’ surge over anti-password sharing
Searches about cancelling subscriptions to the streaming giant have apparently soared
Online searches for “cancel Netflix account” have grown by 733% amid reports that the streaming giant is cracking down on password sharing, data has shown.
New rules around password sharing are apparently being trialled in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica, although it is not yet clear what a crackdown would look like elsewhere.
Comparison site JohnSlots has now said that analysis of Google search data has shown that online interest in the term “cancel Netflix account” has skyrocketed amid the reports.
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It said online searches about cancelling Netflix accounts "exploded 733% worldwide" on 2 February.
Many viewers have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, saying they'd be sorry to see password sharing go.
"When Netflix is cancelling their password sharing then I might go out and share some hotdogs with you all since Netflix don’t know what caring is," one tweeted.
"If u stop password sharing ... I hope u go broke!!" sniped somebody else.
One tweeted: "So Netflix are going to stop password sharing, can't wait to see how they're going to police that."
"I can see them losing a lot of customers over this move," they added.
A JohnSlots spokesperson said: “These findings provide an eye-opening insight into the staggering rise in Netflix users looking to cancel their accounts from across the globe. With the recent backlash over Netflix cancelling fan-favourite shows, such as Warrior Nun and 1899, and the frequent rises in subscription costs, this may be the last change that urges users to delete their accounts permanently.”
On the Help Centre section of Netflix’s site, it currently says “a Netflix account is for people who live together in a single household”.
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It also says that when someone signs into your account from a device that is not associated with your own Netflix household, or if your account is accessed persistently from a location outside of your household, “we may ask you to verify that device before it can be used to watch Netflix”.
Watch: Netflix reveals details on password sharing crackdown
