The dreaded day is finally upon us – Netflix has confirmed that it is emailing members in the US and UK as part of its password sharing crackdown.
The email reminds subscribers that a Netflix account is meant to be for one single household, and not to be shared with friends or family members who don’t live with the account holder. However, users with either a Netflix Standard or Premium account have the option to add these people as ‘Extra Members’.
The catch? Extra Members cost an additional $7.99 per month for American subscribers, and £4.99 per month in the UK.
Netflix Standard subscribers can only add one Extra Member per account. Premium account holders can add two, but they’ll have to pay for each individual member. Those with a Netflix Basic/Basic with Ads membership do not have this option.
These Extra Members can only use one profile on one device, and no simultaneous streams are available. They also can’t be based in another country to the main account holder.
There is another option available – users can transfer a profile to a brand-new account, so previous password sharers can still retain all their watch history – they’ll just have to pay for their own separate account.
The prices for different Netflix plans are as follows:
- Netflix Basic with Ads – $6.99/£4.99 per month
- Netflix Basic – $9.99/£6.99 per month
- Netflix Standard – $15.49/£10.99 per month
- Netflix Premium – $19.99/£15.99 per month
We don’t yet know what will happen if Netflix users ignore this email going forward, but in other countries the streaming platform has tested using pop-ups to prevent users from accessing the service if someone repeatedly signs in to the platform outside of a primary household, and giving temporary passwords to account members for verifying a user.
If you want to know more about the rules (such as if you use Netflix when you’re travelling), then read our full round-up on the Netflix password sharing crackdown. We also have a guide on how to cancel Netflix.
Author: Hannah Cowton, Senior Staff Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.