Bah, Humbug!: Netflix to End Password Sharing in Early 2023

Netflix is taking huge steps to put an end to password sharing and force users to pay for individual Netflix accounts sometime after the holidays.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Netflix is approaching the end of the era of password sharing, which will present challenges for both its users and the streaming company itself. For years, the company had avoided addressing the issue, as researchers within Netflix identified password sharing as a significant problem that was reducing subscriptions in 2019, according to sources.

However, the company was concerned about how to address the issue without causing discontent among its customers. The coronavirus lockdowns brought a surge of new subscribers, and the plan to scrutinize sharing was put on hold.

Netflix did not actively attempt to curb the practice of password sharing until this year, as the company experienced a rise in subscriber losses. At a company gathering held outside of Los Angeles earlier this year, co-CEO Reed Hastings told senior executives that the pandemic-induced increase in subscribers had masked the severity of the password-sharing problem, and that they had allowed it to go on for too long, according to individuals present at the meeting.

According to Netflix, over 100 million viewers currently access the service using passwords that they have obtained from other people, such as family members or friends. The company has announced that it will no longer allow this practice starting in 2023 and will require people who share accounts to pay for the privilege. It is expected that Netflix will begin implementing this change in the United States at the beginning of the year.

If not handled carefully, Netflix’s efforts to prevent password sharing may result in the loss of goodwill the company has established over the years with subscribers and may also lead to consumer anger, as there are many other streaming options available.

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told investors in early December: “Make no mistake, I don’t think consumers are going to love it right out of the gate.”

Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan