Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is hitting the United States and other territories later this year.
In the company’s Q1 2023 shareholder report, Netflix revealed that a “broad rollout” for paid sharing is coming to the U.S. in Q2 2023. This means you can expect to start paying extra to share your Netflix account with other households by the end of June.
“In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results,” Netflix said. “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.”
Netflix first started testing the ability for users to purchase additional “homes” to add to their account last July. Customers in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic were asked to pay a fee for regularly using their account outside of their home. The price of an extra home varied from country to country, but didn’t cost more than $2.99 USD in any location. We don’t yet know how much extra homes will cost in the U.S.
Netflix also introduced a verification system in some countries that came with a warning saying, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.”
In February, Netflix detailed its password sharing crackdown plan, highlighting a number of exceptions that will allow users to watch their account outside of the household. For example, users can request a temporary code to watch Netflix outside of their home if they’re traveling. But, it seems Netflix will be paying close attention to what devices sign into Netflix accounts, and where they sign in from.
Netflix is also bolstering the advertisement tier of its subscription model. Previously, the cheaper, ad-supported Netflix tier was limited to 720p.
“Given current healthy performance and trajectory of our per-member advertising economics, particularly in the US, we’re upgrading our ads experience with more streams and improved video quality to attract a broader range of consumers,” Netflix’s statement reads.
The streamer also shared subscriber numbers for Q1 2023, revealing that Netflix added 1.8 million subscribers from January to March.
For more, check out how Netflix is officially shuttering its DVD rental business.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
