Amidst its share prices crashing this year, Netflix is looking to increase its revenue by reigning in password-sharing, a practice that sees multiple individuals from different households paying for only one account, which technically isn’t allowed. Now, the streaming giant is testing out a new strategy to put a stop to this practice by charging you for multiple “homes”.
Starting 22 August, subscribers in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras will have to pay an additional fee by adding “homes” to their account if they regularly watch outside of their primary location. With this feature, you can only stream Netflix outside of your house for up to two weeks at each new location before it asks you to” add a home”.
Netflix promises that it won’t automatically charge you for a new home, but if you get prompted and don’t pay the fee, the TV or device you’re watching on will be blocked from using the service. Users can add between one to three extra homes, depending on which plan they are on.
The platform detects your location by using IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity. Users can replace a home or remove extra homes to stop paying for them. Each additional home costs 219 pesos (~RM7) per month in Argentina and US$2.99 (~RM13) per month in the other selected countries.
The feature is an extension of the password-sharing fees that are currently being tested in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Both are part of Netflix’s effort to stop users from sharing accounts, which the company estimates to involve over 100 million households globally.
While it is still in the testing phase, the company has said that it might roll out the anti-account-sharing measures by the end of the year. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos also confirmed last month that a cheaper ad-supported tier will be coming later this year.
