JAKARTA - Suddenly social media was shocked by Netflix which launched a series of guidelines for cracking down on password sharing with global users.
The streaming service said guidelines being piloted in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica had been posted accidentally on its aid center page including in the United States (US) on Wednesday, February 1.
Getting a huge reaction from subscribers, Netflix has now returned changes on its US website and also issued a statement claiming the new rule was published accidentally
For a short time yesterday, the aid center article containing information only applies to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru was broadcast in other countries. We have updated it," Netflix said.
While Netflix says it was an accident, it's clear the new rules are in place for some countries.
The new rules include only accounts in one household that can be shared. Traveling and using the service on non-home devices, Netflix will require a temporary code that allows entry to that location, and that code will provide access to an account for seven days.
The company explains that users traveling on their primary device will not have problems using Netflix at other locations.
But to ensure uninterrupted access to Netflix, users must connect to Wi-Fi from the main location at least once every 31 days.
In addition, freeloading users can transfer their profile history to a new account without losing preferences, likes, dislikes, and other personal data.
Netflix has yet to reveal its plans to handle account sharing around the world, but the trial is the closest indication of what new rules are planned to launch globally.
The California, US-based streaming service currently has 230 million subscribers worldwide, saying last month the habit of account sharing undermined the company's long-term ability to invest and improve its services.
Netflix confirmed last year it lost more than 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, and that figure shows more people continuing to migrate to other streaming platforms. From January 2021 to August 2022, Netflix's global market share fell from 32 percent to 27 percent, citing a 9to5Mac report.
This even makes companies introduce cheaper new ad-based packages. Preventing users from sharing their accounts with others, Netflix hopes to force more people to have their own subscriptions, which will generate more revenue for the company.
Since last year Netflix has been testing the pair sharing feature in the three countries. But it is known, in Costa Rica, users have to spend 2.99 US dollars equivalent to IDR 44 thousand per month for additional accounts.
"When we launch paid sharing, members in many countries will also have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with people who don't live with them," Netflix said.
Netflix admits that the restriction on account sharing will be a change for members who often share their accounts more broadly. This was quoted from The Guardian, Friday, February 3.
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