Well, we can’t say we weren’t warned. Months ago, Netflix told us that it had implemented a system that prevents your password from being shared with anyone outside of your household. Now, subscribers in the UK and US are receiving emails telling them that the free sharing time has expired.
Of course, you can understand Netflix’s point of view. Watching Netflix without paying for it is not a good business model.
With the introduction of the new system, you’ll either have to exclude people outside your household from watching, or sign them up for paid sharing.
What complicates matters further is that not every pricing plan has access to paid sharing, dubbed the “option to add an additional member who doesn’t live with you.” If this is not included in your plan, the non-household member must purchase their own subscription to continue watching Netflix. Unless they move in with you I suppose.
How much will it cost and who can get it?
The plans go like this.
The first tier is called “Netflix standard with ads,” which of course is the tier that comes with ads. It costs $6.99 per month, £4.99 in the UK. Next is Netflix Basic: $9.99 a month, £6.99 in the UK. An additional person cannot be added to any of these fares.
The other two have more flexibility. First, there’s “Netflix Standard” which, as you’ll notice, has no ads in the title. This costs $15.49 per month, £10.99 in the UK. Here you can add just one person outside of your household for $7.99 per month, £4.99 in the UK
Finally, Netflix Premium: this top tier costs $19.99 per month, £15.99 in the UK. Premium subscribers can add up to two more people for $7.99 per month per person, £4.99 per person in the UK
Doesn’t everyone just get their own account?
That’s a valid question. Some people might say they just get their own standard Netflix account with ads and pay the lowest amount (and in the US it’s actually cheaper than adding someone, while the price is the cheapest plan in the UK).
But there is one big benefit
If you use the higher plans, you will get a different video quality. Standard with Ads and Standard both access Full HD quality, while Basic provides the lower HD quality. The top tier, Premium, offers Ultra HD. The main benefit is that as an additional member added to an existing Premium account, you also get Ultra HD. However, there are differences. The extra person can only watch on one device at a time and download on only one phone or tablet at a time, and only one of them at a time.
There are other differences, for example, the additional person must “activate their account in the same country as the account holder’s”.
How soon the new prices will be rolled out is not yet known, although these emails have already reached users. If you got the email, you can expect your monthly bills to increase soon.
How do I know if I’ve shared my password and how can I prevent this?
If you’re not sure if you’ve shared your account with others, you can easily check. According to Netflix, users can check which devices are signed into their account and also sign out of devices that shouldn’t have access.
Changing your password will block people who may have had access to your account in the past.