The streaming company claims to have achieved 5.9 million new subscriptions last quarter
Netflix on 20 July gave a groundbreaking announcement that it is bringing additional restrictions on account and password sharing in India. Netflix claims to have had 30.75 million subscribers at the end of Q4 worldwide but still believes that another 100 million users exist: accessing the content on the platform using shared login information.
To tackle this issue and bring in extra revenue, the company began executing a strategy earlier in February in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. These included new password sharing rules throughout 2022.
The company has planned to start sending out emails, asking users outside the household to switch accounts or get a new subscription. Netflix’s official statement states that the family members can use the streaming platform wherever they prefer, at home or on the go, on a holiday. The company offers new features that users can take advantage of, such as Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices.
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The New Rules
Netflix allows sharing of an account with close family. To ensure this, the account holders must choose a primary address and then verify that location once a month. The FAQ page of Netflix asks to connect to the Wi-Fi at the chosen primary location and access the site or the Netflix official app at least once every 31 days.
The streaming platform however has rolled out a new subscription plan where a user can pay an extra amount to share the passwords. But in a recent letter to its shareholders, Netflix has revealed that it wont be rolling out this plan in India as it is already one of the costliest forums in the country.
Here is how Netflix tracks password sharing
Netflix has devised a system to identify password sharing by using the user’s IP address, device ID and account activity. Additionally, users will have to enter access codes to access the platform outside the primary location once every 7 days while as mentioned below, it further requires you to access the Wi-Fi at the registered ‘Primary Location’.
Can I Use Netflix while travelling?
While the company strongly claims that this move to curb password sharing won’t harm the user’s ability to access the platform whilst travelling, it is still very unclear how the platform is going to manage to uphold this. Speculations have been made predicting that the company will probably use the user’s device IP to achieve this.
Boost in Company’s business
The streaming giant claims that this crackdown of password sharing across the globe has caused the business to reach new hights. Netflix announced that it gained around 5.9 million new subscribers in the second quarter (Q2) Of 2024 even though for the first time ever, it lost subscribers in Q1 of 2022.
In an earnings release, the company said that the revenue in al countries around the globe is higher than pre-launch and that the sign-ups exceed the cancellations.
The company further predicts a healthy pattern of conversion of borrowers to subscribers. The company is expecting even more revenue as it is still in the early stages of monetization and has a positive outlook on the whole situation.
