A crackdown on account sharing appears to be on the way and users are speaking out.
Details about a Netflix (nflx) – Get a free reporttest for paid exchange were unintentionally posted on their US help center pages on February 1st.
The judgment was only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, but details surfaced on its website globally.
The bug gave its users a glimpse of what’s to come in future Netflix charges, particularly for its primary out-of-home users who pay for the streaming service. The instructions have since been removed from their pages in markets outside of the three countries that are part of the trial.
The changes appear to include a new fee for people who share a Netflix account who do not live in the household where it is registered. In Costa Rica, for example, the additional fee is $2.99 per month.
“Today’s widespread account sharing (more than 100 million households) undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve Netflix, as well as build our business,” Netflix wrote in a January 19 statement.letter to shareholders.
Twitter users took note when a Netflix tweet from 2017 resurfaced.
“Love is sharing a password,” @netflix had written.
Twitter reacts to resurrected post
The reaction on social media to the company’s reversal of account sharing was swift and passionate.
“This hasn’t aged well,” wrote @isthatdrew35.
One of the new rules requires users to connect to Netflix from their primary location at least once every 31 days.
“There is absolutely no way any of these new rules are going to last LOL. Placing bets on how quickly they reverse this is based solely on the outrage generated before the policy went into effect,” @erinbiba tweeted.
“What about those of us traveling for work for 3+ months? Or Canadian snowbirds coming to the US for the winter? Guess we’re not watching @netflix,” @GrayJones posted .
“I hope you reconsider your crackdown on this,” @SingingTech wrote. “He doesn’t provide good service to his customers and he’s pretty harsh.”
