With streaming services scrambling to increase their number of subscribers, Netflix has become the first to crack down on user password sharing. If you're worried about what all this means, don’t fret, Eva Anido gives you the lowdown on the new rules and what they mean for your Netflix account.
Netflix has figured out a way to prevent its users from sharing their passwords with people outside of their household. So, if you’re not still living with them, there will be no more leeching off your parents or siblings accounts. If you want to continue sharing an account with someone outside of your household it will incur an extra fee of $7.99 a month (which is cheaper than starting up a new account). But how does Netflix know you’re outside the household? With this new update the owner of the account must set a primary location. From then on the account must be activated in the primary location at least once a month. So, if you go away and want to access your Netflix it’s no problem. [1]
The enforcement of this rule has been a long time coming. Since Netflix first became a streaming platform they have had a strong stance against password sharing between friends and family of separate households. So what has prompted this crackdown? With the rise of so many other streaming platforms Netflix is competing for subscribers more than ever. In the last year Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers which led to their shares going down. [2] It’s no surprise the company has implemented these restrictions on unpaying users.
One worry by students living on campus and out of home is that Netflix may be clearing the path for all other streaming platforms to follow. Unfortunately, experts think the same. In an interview with ABC, Ramon Lobato, an Associate Professor at RMIT, explained that with the plateau of subscribers on these other platforms it makes sense for them to follow Netflix in order to maximise their revenue. [3]
Unfortunately it may be time for us all to leave the days of freeloading off our parents behind us and invest in our own accounts.
[1] Long, Trevor. “Explained: How Changes to Netflix Password Sharing Affect You.” 9 news, 24 May 2023,
https://www.9news.com.au/national/netflix-password-changes-how-changes-to-netflix-p assword-sharing-affect-you/abd0dce6-50f4-44ce-9f35-20c13dfd0102#:~:text=Netflix%2 0cracks%20down%20on%20password%20sharing&text=As%20we%20reported%20ex clusively%20earlier,live%20in%20the%20same%20household.
[2] Venz, Sophie. “Netflix’s Password Sharing Crackdown Is Here. Here’s How It Will Affect You.” Forbes, 24 May 2023,
[3] Maguire, Danielle. “Netflix is Changing the Rules for Password Sharing. Here's What It Means for the Future of Streaming.” ABC News, 25 May 2023,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-25/netflix-password-sharing-rules-account-austral ia-subscription/102385196.