Netflix Officially Launches Paid Sharing in U.S., To Begin Blocking Users With Unauthorized Passwords

For months now, Netflix has teased the enforcement of password sharing fees in the United States. Now, the time has officially come and the streamer is cracking down on users.

Those who are sharing Netflix passwords with someone who does not live in the same household should get ready to pay $7.99 USD/month extra just to add another user to the account. On Tuesday, Netflix announced that it is launching its official crackdown on illicit password sharing. In an email to its U.S. customers, Netflix wrote, "Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with your household." Those who are sharing with someone outside their household can either transfer the profile to a new membership altogether r pay the additional cost.

Netflix claims that paid sharing is not available in all countries just yet. The crackdown process will see the company start blocking devices after a certain period of time. However, this does not affect members using Netflix to access the service. Those on the ad-supported plan will not be able to add an extra member. Netflix did note in the Q1 letter to shareholders that they have seen a "cancel reaction." Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said, "It's very much like a price increase — we see an initial cancel reaction. And then we build out of that, both in terms of membership and revenue as borrowers sign up for their own Netflix accounts, and existing members purchase that extra member facility for folks that they want to share it with." Despite the concern, Netflix is confident revenue growth will still occur.

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