Last month, Netflix announced that it would start charging an extra fee to users who lend their accounts to people who don’t live in the same household. Although users have already been notified about this measure through emails for a few weeks, it will come into force as of April 16. Here we tell you everything you need to know about this payment.
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Netflix will start this plan with a pilot in three Latin American countries: Peru, Chile and Costa Rica. Currently, the platform has already implemented an option that allows users to register extra members to their memberships so that they can also use the service for an additional cost.
In our country, the amount to be paid will be S/7.90 and will entail some conditions such as an account and password of its own for the additional user, unlimited access to the content of the platform as if it were any other subscriber, the possibility of watching Netflix on any device (although only on one at a time) and the creation of your own profile, limited to one per extra member.
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In addition, the company stressed that the extra charge will not be made automatically. If a user who does not live in the same household (i.e. does not register the same IP address as the account owner) wants to log into the account, a verification code will be required before being allowed to access the account . The code is obtained once the payment for the extra member has been made. If desired, the profiles of the main account can be transferred to the extra one.
A measure with a certain history
A year ago, in March 2021, the American newspaper Washington Post had warned that Netflix was working on a plan to control this practice of its users, which, although it had been tolerated while the platform was consolidated, later came to be seen as a vulnerability for the business of a company that depends on the income generated by the sale of subscriptions (remember that Netflix does not include advertising). At that time, the company acknowledged that it was developing tests to ensure that the people who use the service are the ones authorized to do so.
At the end of 2021, Netflix reported having 222 million subscribers worldwide, of which 39 million are in Latin America.
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What does it consist of?
Users of Netflix who share their password with people outside their household will start seeing notifications inviting them to add these “stowaways” as “extra members”. Thus, for example, those who are currently subscribed to a premium plan (which allows up to 5 different user profiles, for $15.99 per month) will also be able to contract up to two subaccounts for extra members, each at an additional cost of $2.99 per month ( S/ 7.90 in Peru)
These extra members will have a subaccount that will be independent from the main account, with personalized recommendations, username and password differentiated. Of course, its cost will be paid by the original subscriber who extended the invitation.
Although no dates are mentioned, the pilot plan that will be developed first in Costa Rica, Chile and Peru then it will be extended to the other markets where Netflix has operations. At the end of the process, those people who enter the service using someone else’s password will be bounced back by the system, unless they have the status of “extra member” and someone is assuming their payment.
Let’s see it better with an example: if you are a premium client today and of the five users enabled in your plan, four correspond to people who live in the same place and the fifth is in use by someone who lives in another house, that will be the person who in the future will run into a wall that will prevent him from entering Netflix. How will the system detect it? By recognizing your IP address, which is a unique identification for devices that connect to the Internet.
In practice, moving your “sponsored” members to the “extra member” model will effectively mean an additional charge for your membership. Netflix but on the bright side, the $2.99 will be cheaper than buying a new subscription (the basic plan is $8.99 a month) for, say, your parents or that cash-strapped sibling.
This is happening at a time when the leadership of Netflix It is challenged by younger competitors that have arrived in the streaming market in the last couple of years, such as Disney +, HBO Max and Apple TV +. These platforms, as well as Amazon Prime Video, are extensions of their corporations’ core businesses, while Netflix is entirely dedicated to streaming. Hence, now more than ever, every subscriber counts.
In addition, the company has been clear that the practice of password sharing by users affects Netflix’s ability to invest in creating new original content.
transfer profiles
Another new possibility that Netflix customers will start to notice in the coming days is the option to “transfer profiles”. With this, if someone no longer wants or can continue to “sponsor” a person within their membership, they have the possibility to transfer all their user information, personalized recommendations and “My list” to an “extra member” subaccount or well to a new separate account.
Thus, your viewing history will be preserved with the “move”.
This is especially useful in cases such as sentimental breakups, because that way the person who previously benefited from the access paid by their “ex” will be able to start their independent life on Netflix without losing the continuity of where they were going with Ugly Betty or that the system goes through the anguish of recommending you again House of Cards (remember when it was the series that everyone was talking about?).
Here are some questions and answers about the changes coming to Netflix:
How many people can watch content at the same time on a single account?
The plans that Netflix offers today allow different numbers of devices within a home to play content from the platform at the same time: 4 with Premium, 2 with Standard and 1 with Basic.
As long as the devices within the plan belong to people in the same household, they can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere. Members of the Standard and Premium plans can now pay extra to add an “extra member” subaccount for people outside their household (up to a maximum of two subaccounts).
Can I watch Netflix when I’m traveling? Can I use the same account if I live in two houses? What happens if I use my mobile device outside of my home? Is allowed?
Yes to everything. When a device outside the home logs into an account, or if an account is accessed from a location outside the home, Netflix could ask you to verify that device by sending it a code, as other services from, for example, Google or Netflix do today. the banks.
Can family members/relatives who do not live with me use my account?
Netflix stipulates in its contracts that the subscription you pay for is for people who live together in the same household, for example, on the same property. In Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru, members who share their Netflix account with people outside of their household can now add an “extra member” subaccount for a lower price ($2.99) than a basic plan ($8.99).
What if I have a profile for someone outside of my household on my account? Can I migrate that profile to an “extra member”?
Yes. If a subscriber wants to add an existing profile as an “extra member” to their account, they must do the following:
In addition, these new trial features also allow people to take information from one profile and create a different account, with a separate payment.
Can all profiles be transferred?
No. Child profiles and profiles that have PINs are not eligible to be transferred.
With information from La Nación, Costa Rica/GDA
Source: Elcomercio