Netflix implements password-sharing crackdown in India with focus on 'households'

Netflix has started cracking down on account sharing in India starting July 20 months after it implemented the same policy in the American and European markets. The streaming platform started sending emails to its subscribers announcing that they could only share their Netflix account within their household.

Netflix India password sharing crackdown: How does it look like?

In the emails sent to its subscribers in India, the company said that one Netflix account can only be shared within a household.

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"Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with – your household," it said in the email. This is the definition of a 'household' for Netflix. yourself and the people you live with.

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Netflix subscribers in India, including this author— who until July 20 shared its Netflix with four of his friends— received the same email. At the time of filing this report, the other four individuals were logged out of Netflix from their respective devices in an automated way.

Netflix sent the email informing its subscribers they could share their account only within their household

'Extra member' feature not rolled out in India

Netflix has not rolled out the 'extra member' feature in India, in which subscribers could add on another non-household user for a price on the same account.

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix explained that it will not offer the 'extra member' option in these markets due to recent price cuts and relatively low penetration.

Earlier, Netflix had reduced its prices in India by 20-60 per cent in December 2021, leading to a significant increase in engagement by nearly 30 per cent on ayear-on-year basis.

However, despite the price cuts, Netflix remains one of the more expensive video streaming services in India.

Netflix subscribers surge after password-sharing crackdown

The company observed that revenue and paid memberships in these regions increased after the paid sharing launch, with new member sign-ups surpassing cancellations.

During the second quarter of 2023, Netflix added 5.9 million paid members, a significant improvement compared to losing almost one million members in the same quarter the previous year. Their total subscriber base reached 238.4 million subscribers for the quarter.

While the impact of the account sharing initiative on Netflix's revenues was limited during the second quarter of 2023, the company is optimistic about its potential financial dividends in later quarters.

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