Netflix, the streaming giant, has made a major decision that affects the way we use its service. As of this May 23, 2023, it is now forbidden to share your account outside your "home", a decision that has direct implications for users in over a hundred countries, including France.
The American streaming giant announced this measure restricting account sharing, stating that it is now impossible to share logins with people outside one's household. This policy is intended to optimize investment in new film and TV series productions, as over 100 million households share their accounts, reducing the platform's revenues.
In concrete terms, this new rule means that you can no longer use your friends' pass words to log into their accounts and enjoy their subscriptions for free. If you try to do so, the connection will fail and the account holder will receive an email reminder. Netflix uses information such as IP address or device ID to ensure that users respect this rule.
To adapt to this new reality, Netflix offers 2 alternatives for those who previously depended on other people's accounts:
Profile transfer: If you had a profile on an account that isn't yours, Netflix lets you transfer it to your own account by paying your own subscription fee.
Adding an additional subscriber: For those who like to share, Netflix also offers the possibility for the main user to add an additional subscriber for 5.99 euros per month.
The addition of an extra member to the Netflix subscription, set at a rate of €5.99, corresponds to the cost of the "Standard with ads" formula launched at the end of 2022. Ross Benes of Insider Intelligence explains: "It's no coincidence that Netflix is pursuing both approaches at the same time. People who use other people's accounts, just like those who choose the ad-supported formula, are looking to save money. For the profiteers who will lose their access, the new subscription will be an attractive option. And it's a win-win for the company, which is struggling to grow its viewer numbers as quickly as advertisers would like."
It should be noted, however, that not all offers allow the addition of an extra member. Only the €13.49/month "Standard" and €17.99/month "Premium " offers do. The "Standard" offer lets you add a single extra out-of-home profile, while the "Premium" offer lets you add two.
Note that the extra €5.99 per month per additional profile is charged to the account owner.
If you have a subscription but want to connect to Netflix away from home, don't worry. You can still access Netflix from your own account via a "trusted device" such as your laptop or smartphone . Netflix uses theuser's IP address, device ID and account activity to determine whether or not the user is part of the same household. In the event of travel or vacation, the account holder can access his or her account, but must complete a verification procedure. For very long trips, children in alternating custody or second homes, Netflix assures that the user can continue to watch Netflix on his account in any other location, as long as he connects to the main household's Wi-Fi network at least once a month, without needing to subscribe to an "additional member" option.
Despite this restriction, the question remains: will Netflix lose subscribers? According to Greg Peters, the company's co-CEO, rollouts in Latin America and more recently in Canada have been conclusive: "At first, there are cancellations. And then, people who were using borrowed credentials create their own accounts and add profiles, and we regain ground in terms of subscriptions and revenues". However, there is a risk that some users will prefer to turn to other streaming services such as Prime Video (Amazon), Disney + or Max (HBO) rather than take out their own Netflix subscription.
It remains to be seen how French users will react to these changes, and whether they will see these new options as an opportunity or a constraint. In the meantime, social networks are abuzz, so get out the popcorn!
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