The days of being able to share Netflix accounts freely are coming to an end, which is bad news for students as they will now have to pay extra for their own accounts. Netflix has confirmed that, beginning in 2023, it will be implementing a new policy where the standard account will cover one household only. As a result, you won’t be able to share your password anymore. You will be able to add up to two sub accounts for people outside your household, but these will incur an extra cost.
Sub Accounts
Sub accounts are Netflix’s way of cracking down on password sharing. They will occupy a different category from household accounts, and have the ability to be converted into a regular account with its own subscription. This means that, if someone with a sub account wanted to have a full account, they could do so. The account would retain its data, such as watch history and preferences.
“After listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer the ability for borrowers to transfer their Netflix profile into their own account, and for sharers to manage their devices more easily and to create sub-accounts (“extra member”), if they want to pay for family or friends,” Netflix execs said in the quarterly earnings call.
“In countries with our lower-priced ad-supported plan, we expect the profile transfer option for borrowers to be especially popular.”
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Netflix’s Testing
Netflix has tested the sub accounts model in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. It has also tested a model where users can buy an additional household under their account in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Based on this rollout, sub accounts can be expected to add an additional 25% to the account fee.
“We recognize that people have many entertainment choices, so we want to ensure any new features are flexible and useful for members, whose subscriptions fund all our great TV and films. We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world.” Netflix explained on their website when the feature was first announced.
Basic With Ads Could Be Ideal For Students
Netflix is also introducing a new account tier called Basic With Ads. These accounts will be able to watch content on TV and mobile devices with 15-30 second advertisements. Titles will be limited and only available to view in 720p. These accounts will also not allow for downloads or for streaming from multiple devices. This is the first time Netflix will be running a service with advertisements, after a long history of avoiding them. This plan will cost £4.99 a month.
While it is bad news for students that they won’t be able to share their Netflix subscription with another household, they can at least pay less for the add-version.
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