Tag: password sharing

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix says subscriber growth in Canada has increased after password-sharing crackdown

Netflix says more Canadians are subscribing to the service following its controversial password-sharing crackdown.

During its first-quarter earnings results for fiscal 2023, the company reflected on its paid sharing policies, which went into effect in Canada in February. While many people pushed back against this move, especially after years of Netflix embracing password-sharing, the streamer said during its latest earnings call that it’s nonetheless still seen growth in Canada post-crackdown.

Although the company acknowledged there was an initial ‘cancel reaction’ in Canada and the other markets which have already received paid sharing, that churn was quickly offset. “For example, in Canada, which we believe is a reliable predictor for the U.S., our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the U.S.,” wrote Netflix in its Q1 2023 earnings letter.

Overall, the company says it’s “pleased with the results” of paid sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal,” which it says are “strengthening our confidence that we have the right approach.” As part of these efforts, the company says it will expand paid sharing to the U.S. by the end of June.

As of February, Netflix requires all Canadian users to set a primary streaming location so the company can recognize those who are sharing the account elsewhere. The company is charging $7.99 to those who want to add an extra member who can share their account. It’s worth noting, however, that it’s not clear to what extent, if any, Netflix has been enforcing these rules so far. Last month, a MobileSyrup survey found that the majority of respondents have still been able to share accounts without penalty.

If you’re in Canada, has Netflix blocked you from sharing an account yet? Let us know in the comments.

In related news, Netflix posted 1.75 million new streaming subscribers in Q1 2023, which was below analyst estimates of 2.06 million. Overall, the company reported earnings of $1.31 billion USD (about $1.75 billion CAD), which was down from the $1.6 billion USD (roughly $2.14 billion CAD) it brought in this time last year.

Source: Netflix

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Mobile Syrup

If you’ve cancelled your Netflix, the streaming service wants you back

If you’ve left Netflix recently because of its new password-sharing policies, you might get a new email from the streaming service. It looks like Netflix is sending emails to some of its previous customers, trying to get them to rejoin the service.

The service seems to try and get you back by targeting one of the shows you would watch.

This isn’t the strangest behaviour for the service, as we’ve seen carriers like Bell, Telus and Rogers do the same thing in the past. However, when the telecoms try and get you back, they offer users a deal. It looks like Netflix isn’t even offering its users a new join-back deal and instead is trying to tempt them with the new $5.99 ad tier.

On February 28th, MobileSyrup conducted a survey where we found that out of around 6,900 users, 46 percent of them left the service, which means that many people will be getting this new email.

Source: Sal Di Vittorio

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Mobile Syrup

How to sign up for Netflix account sharing in Canada

Netflix is finally cracking down on password sharing in Canada.

As of February 22nd, all users must have a designated “primary location” for where they’ll stream. This is tracked by your home Wi-Fi network. Connecting to this Wi-Fi network at least once per month will allow you to keep using Netflix on mobile devices should you plan to travel for a few weeks. However, anyone else who tries to stream outside of that primary location “may be blocked from watching Netflix.”

Therefore, the only way to share Netflix with another household is to pay up. In Canada, this costs $7.99/month per person (“extra member”). Netflix Premium subscribers ($20.99/month) can purchase up to two extra members, while Standard subscribers ($16.49/month) may buy one extra member. Basic ($9.99/month) and Basic with Ads ($5.99/month) subscribers cannot purchase extra members. Extra members will have their own account and password, but their membership will be paid for by you.

On a web browser, Premium and Standard subscribers can visit the ‘Buy an extra member slot‘ section under your ‘Account’ once you’re signed in. From here, you’ll have to confirm your new monthly Netflix cost and billing date.

Once that’s done, set up your extra member by entering their name, email address and your name. This information will be used to send your extra member an invitation to be added to your account. If they already have a profile under your account, you can choose to them transfer it once they receive the invitation or let them create a new profile entirely. Profile transfers will allow them to keep their viewing history, ‘My List,’ personalized recommendations and more.

You can also buy an extra member from your TV. If you log in and see a message that says, “To keep sharing with someone who doesn’t live with you, please add an extra member,” click ‘Learn more.’ From there, select ‘Start Extra Member’ and confirm the new monthly payment amount and billing date. Next, select ‘Next’ to enter the phone number of the extra member, who will receive a text message containing their invitation link.

Netflix is cracking down on password sharing because it says more than 100 million additional households are sharing accounts, thus “impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films.”

Naturally, many people have expressed their displeasure with this move, especially after Netflix had previously promoted password sharing as a positive thing. In January, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters acknowledged that this “will not be a universally popular move” and the company will “see a bit of a cancel reaction to that.”

It remains to be seen to what extent that will occur, but in Ontario, at least, a recent survey found that 60 percent of respondents will cancel Netflix due to this crackdown.

Are you willing to pay the sharing fee or will you just cancel Netflix? Let us know in the comments.

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Mobile Syrup

Tesla owners omitted from Netflix’s new password-sharing policies

Netflix is omitting Tesla owners from its new password-sharing policies.

Last week, the streaming service cracked down on the ability to share accounts with those outside of the primary household. Since Tesla vehicles are unable to abide by the new policy, Netflix is making an exception.

In Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and other regions around the world, Netflix now charges a $7.99 fee to add an extra user outside of the primary household. Tesla owners began to worry as the newly introduced notification popped up on their infotainment center within the vehicle. “A Netflix account is for people who live in the same location,” the message reads.

For households in Canada, primary account holders must then open Netflix and set their primary location. This then binds their account to an I.P. address. Anyone living outside of this location must be added to the account as a sub-account. For Tesla owners, this became a cause for concern as many believed they’d be locked out of their accounts.

Thankfully, those worries can be set aside. When speaking to Tesla North, Netflix confirms that Tesla owners can continue using its streaming service in their vehicles as normal. The outlet asked if owners would have to sign into their home Wi-Fi once per month as was previously rumoured. This does not appear to be the case. Tesla owners don’t appear to have to jump through any hoops to continue their service.

Netflix’s service across Tesla’s vehicles remains active worldwide. The only exception remains to be Hong Kong, where it’s unavailable.

The streamer’s recent crackdown on password sharing has been met with significant criticism. The new policy itself has a lot of restrictions in that the $7.99 monthly cost to add a sub-account isn’t accessible to those on the ad-tier or Basic plan. Those subscribing to the Standard tier can only add one other person.

In order to add the maximum of two sub-accounts, users must be subscribed to the $21.99/month Premium tier, bringing the total monthly cost to nearly $38.

Via: Tesla North

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix password sharing will cost $7.99 in Canada, rolling out today

Netflix has confirmed official Canadian pricing for password sharing.

In a February 8th blog post, the company revealed that it will cost $7.99 CAD to add up to people outside of your household to your Netflix account. These sub-accounts will have their own profiles, personalized recommendations, logins and passwords.

While we’ve known for months that Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing was coming, the Canadian price is a bit surprising. Last year, Netflix began testing the paywall on password sharing in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, where it cost 2,380 CLP (about $4 CAD) $2.99 USD (about $4 CAD) and 7.9 PEN (about $2.77 CAD), respectively. Therefore, the Canadian cost is at least double what Netflix has been charging in Latin America.

Netflix says the paywall is rolling out today in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. However, there are some restrictions.

To start, Basic with Ads ($5.99/month) and Basic ($9.99/month) members cannot pay for extra members with whom they can share their passwords. Standard ($16.49) subscribers may pay for only one extra member, while Premium ($21.99/month) can purchase two additional users.

Meanwhile, Netflix is rolling out a suite of related new features, including:

  • Set primary location — this is how Netflix will know that anyone who uses your account from the same location (I.P. address) is permitted to do so
  • Manage account access and devices — a new ‘Manage Access and Devices’ page to make it easy to control everyone who has access to the account
  • Transfer profile — a way for people to transfer their profiles (including personalized recommendations, viewing history and My List) to a new account if they want to start paying for their own

Last week, Netflix’s support page briefly listed a 31-day sign-in requirement to verify your account as part of its password-sharing crackdown, but this was said to be an error and quickly amended. As a result, users were confused about Netflix’s actual stance. Even still, some questions remain. For instance, Netflix says you can still use your account while travelling (i.e. on vacation), although it’s unclear how long of a grace period you’d be given for that. We’ll update this story once more information becomes available.

Last year, Netflix confirmed it would begin charging for password sharing amid multiple quarters of losses, claiming that more than 100 million households were doing so. As a result, the company said it was leaving a significant amount of money on the table, and, therefore, wanted to crack down on it.

Source: Netflix

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix explains password sharing restrictions, leaves users confused

Netflix has provided more details on how its password sharing crackdown will work, although it’s been a bit confusing so far.

On Tuesday, the streamer updated its Help Center page to note that you’ll need to see set a primary location for your account, and additional devices must connect to the same Wi-Fi network. However, it added that any devices outside of said primary location will need to connect to the home Wi-Fi and stream a title “at least once every 31 days,” otherwise it may be “blocked from watching Netflix.”

As noted by Gizmodo, though, the Help Center page has since been updated to remove mention of the 31-day period. Now, the company simply says “when someone signs into your account from a device that is not associated with your 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.”

As part of this verification process, the account holder will need to click a link that’s sent to their email or phone number. Users will then need to enter a provided code within 15 minutes on the device that requested it.

Therefore, it’s unclear how often Netflix will enforce this verification, especially considering it simply says “we may ask you to verify.” Likewise, the wording of “accessed persistently” is vague. We’ve reached out to Netflix for clarification and will update this story once a response has been received.

For now, though, we know that Netflix will officially begin charging for password sharing by the end of March. Following multiple quarters of subscriber losses and stiff streaming competition, the company began looking to a crackdown on password sharing last year. So far, it’s only been testing this via a roughly $3 CAD paywall in Central and South America. It remains to be seen exactly how much it will cost in Canada.

Image credit: Netflix

Via: Gizmodo

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix password sharing fee to begin rolling out in early 2023: report

Netflix will finally introduce a paywall on password sharing in early 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The publication cites multiple sources who say the streaming giant will roll out the change first in the U.S. before, presumably, expanding to other markets.

Earlier this year, Netflix confirmed that it would begin making customers pay to share their accounts with others, claiming that as many as 100 million people had been doing so for free. While Netflix’s terms of service have long stipulated that users don’t share their passwords with others, the company hasn’t actually ever enforced that.

Interestingly, though, WSJ reports that Netflix researchers warned the streamer that password sharing was eating into subscriptions way back in 2019, but it didn’t want to alienate customers by cracking down on this. The service’s initially significant growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic also put off any potential plans to introduce a paywall.

But earlier this year, Netflix reported its first quarterly subscriber losses, all while rival services like Disney+ continued to grow in popularity. As a result, the company has finally decided to push forward with a paywall. The first step in these efforts was a test in a three countries — Peru, Chile and Costa Rica — in which it would cost around $3 to $4 Canadian to share your account with two people.

In October, a Netflix spokesperson told MobileSyrup that the company currently had no plans to bring the test to Canada. That said, the WSJ‘s new report about Netflix’s initial U.S. rollout plan seems to suggest an international expansion wouldn’t be too far off.

For now, though, the company has a new, less expensive ad-enabled tier in Canada, the U.S. and other markets. At a cost of $5.99 CAD/month, Netflix ‘Basic with Ads’ offers most of the Netflix film and TV series catalogue with ads playing roughly four to five minutes every hour. That said, Gizmodo reports that only nine percent of new U.S. Netflix subscribers actually opted for the entry-level membership last month.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix testing new take on paid password sharing in Argentina, Honduras, and more

In a recent blog post, Netflix detailed a new take on paid password sharing. The change to Netflix’s service will force subscribers to pay extra to share their accounts with different homes.

However, Canadians don’t need to panic just yet — Netflix appears to be testing different approaches to paying for password sharing. In March 2022, Netflix rolled out an ‘add extra member’ option in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Now, the company plans to launch the ‘add a home’ capability in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

In a blog post, Netflix describes how the ‘add a home’ capability works. To start, the streaming giant says each Netflix account will include one home where subscribers can use it. To use the account in other homes, there will be a fee of:

  • 219 pesos (about $2.20 CAD) per month, per home, in Argentina
  • $2.99/mo per home in the Dominican Republic
  • $2.99/mo per home in Honduras
  • $2.99/mo per home in El Salvador
  • $2.99/mo per home in Guatemala

Netflix doesn’t clarify in its blog, but the $2.99 cost is presumably in USD, which translates to roughly $3.86/mo CAD per additional household.

Interestingly, Netflix says that the plan includes travel and that subscribers can still watch while outside the home on their tablet, laptop, or mobile device. Finally, there will be an option to manage homes on the account settings page.

Netflix is still running with the line that it needs to charge for password sharing so it can continue to “invest in and improve our service.” However, if the new ‘add a home’ capability plays out similarly to the company’s other paid password sharing test, it’ll leave some questions about how competent the company is at administering these changes.

Netflix seems to struggle with enforcing password-sharing changes

In June, reports indicated Netflix’s ‘add extra member’ option being testing in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru left customers confused. Netflix reportedly didn’t inform subscribers about the change to password sharing, and others were able to bypass prompts for validation and continue using a shared password without issue.

Netflix appears to be having some difficulty enforcing the paid password sharing capability. And with that in mind, I wonder how Netflix could enforce these changes without significantly altering how the service works. To my knowledge, Spotify is one of the few streaming services that has somewhat successfully combated password sharing by effectively limiting each Spotify account to one active streaming session at a time — for better and worse.

For example, I use a Spotify family account that I share with my wife and a few other family members. We can all listen to music simultaneously thanks to each person having their own Spotify accounts connected to the subscription. However, my account is also tied to my smart speakers, which means that if someone plays Spotify using a speaker, it will interrupt whatever session I have going on my phone.

If Netflix is serious about stopping password sharing, this may be the route to take. To use Netflix, you need an account, and it needs to be tied to an active subscription. Then there can be a set limit to how many accounts can use a given subscription, plus maybe an extra fee to increase that cap. But, Netflix doesn’t appear to have attempted something like this yet, and it’s not clear if it will.

Alongside promises to crack down on password sharing, Netflix has also revealed plans to introduce a new, lower-cost subscription tier supported with ads. The company appears to want both of these operating by the end of 2022.

Source: Netflix

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Mobile Syrup

Netflix could earn $1.6 billion annually by charging for password sharing: analysts

Earlier this month, Netflix made headlines for announcing the upcoming testing of a paywall on password sharing in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

While the company has since told MobileSyrup it has no plans to expand this test to Canada, consumers have nonetheless been wary.

Now, a group of analysts has worked out a rough figure for potential revenue should Netflix introduce paid password sharing worldwide. According to U.S. analysts Cowen & Co., Netflix could bring in an additional $1.6 billion USD (about $2.01 billion CAD) globally each year.

For context, Cowen & Co.’s estimate would be about four percent of the company’s projected $38.8 billion USD (about $48.8 billion CAD) revenue for 2023.

How the firm came to this conclusion was that it assumed password sharing — which includes two extra accounts — would cost around $3 USD (about $3.77 CAD), which is what it’s set to charge during the test in the aforementioned countries. From there, Cowen & Co. projects that about half of non-paying Netflix password sharing households would become paying members, and half of that group would opt to sign up for their own accounts.

However, other analysts were skeptical Netflix would make that much off of paid password sharing. Per Deadline, Benchmark Co. analyst Matthew Harrigan said he expects that revenue would be less than that four percent, arguing that it “cannibalizes full-ride member growth.” In either case, both projections should naturally be taken with a grain of salt.

For now, it remains to be seen what Netflix will do following these international tests. It should be noted, though, that Netflix acknowledged the loss of potential revenue from password sharing in its original blog post announcing the test:

“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans. While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households – impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

The company also added that password sharing violates its terms of service, although it hasn’t ever prevented people from doing so.

Regardless, the news has not been well-received, especially as the streamer has increased prices in Canada twice within two years. The popular Twitter account ‘Poorly Aged Things’ even posted a screenshot of a 2017 tweet from Netflix’s main account that “Love is sharing a password.”

Many people have since responded to Netflix’s original tweet to express their frustration with the planned password sharing paywall test.

Via: Variety