Netflix confirms that they're cracking down on account sharing in New Zealand

Netflix says it will start a crackdown on account sharing in New Zealand and three other countries.

The company said it had trialled the strategy in Latin America and was now ready to roll the policy out more broadly.

In a statement this morning, the company said the changes were needed to help it invest in new projects.

“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account with features like profiles and multiple streams.” Netflix product innovation director Chengyi Long said.

“While these have been hugely popular, they’ve also created confusion about when and how you can share Netflix,” Long added.

“Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts, impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films.”

New Zealand, Canada, Portugal and Spain would now experience changes of the type trialled in Latin America.

“Our focus has been on giving members greater control over who can access their account,” Long said.

Netflix said it would help members establish a “primary location” ensuring anybody in the same household could use their Netflix account.

The company said members would more easily be able to manage access to accounts from a new access and devices management page.

“People using an account can now easily transfer a profile to a new account, which they pay for, keeping their personalised recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games and more,” the company added this morning.

“Members can still easily watch Netflix on their personal devices or log into a new TV, like at a hotel or holiday rental.”

Netflix said Kiwi members on standard or premium plans will be able to add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with.

The extra feature will cost $7.99 a month.

“A Netflix account is intended for one household and members can choose from a range of plans with different features,” the company added.

“As always, we’ll refine these new features based on member feedback so that we continue to improve Netflix in the years ahead.”

Netflix in October introduced a new Profile Transfer feature letting users take favourites, recommendations, saved games and other personalised settings if leaving a shared household account and starting a new membership.

Password sharing has been a hassle for Netflix. But the company has been wary of draconian steps in market with stiff competition from Disney+ and Amazon’s Prime Video.

In the Latin American trial, people were logged out of their Netflix accounts.

On signing back in, viewers were asked to verify they were within the household that held the account.

To soften the crackdown, Netflix let those customers add up to two profiles per account, for US$2.99 ($4.74) each, for people outside their household.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.