Netflix Is About To Start Charging You For Letting Your Friends Mooch Off Your Account

Netflix is taking steps to make password sharing a thing of the past. As of early 2023, anyone with "extra users" spotted on their account will get slapped with fees.

The streaming giant announced in March that it was planning to crack down on accounts being shared outside of a single household, but did not have a projected timeline. Netflix revealed that the move was imminent on Tuesday.

"We’ve landed on a thoughtful approach to monetize account sharing and we’ll begin rolling this out more broadly starting in early 2023," Netflix wrote in a letter to shareholders.

"We are going to offer the ability for borrowers to transfer their Netflix profile into their own account, and for sharers… to create sub-accounts (“extra member”) if they want to pay for family or friends. In countries with our lower-priced ad-supported plan, we expect the profile transfer option for borrowers to be especially popular."

The company announced a new cheaper subscription model in early October for people looking to pay less to access content. Users going that route pay $5.99 a month and have to put up with around four to five minutes of ads per hour of viewing.

Earlier this year, Netflix also rolled out two new features for members in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

An "add an extra member" option allowed customers to have "sub accounts" for up to two people who don’t live with them. Each additional person would have their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password. The cost per extra user was $3.36 (2,380 CLP) in Chile, $4.12 (2.99 USD) in Costa Rica, and $2.74 (7.9 PEN) in Peru.

A "transfer profile to a new account" was also tested, letting people who share their account move profile information either to a new account or a sub account while letting them keep viewing history, My List, and personalized recommendations.

It remains to be seen if Netflix will offer the same options in Canada, or how much the streaming platform will charge for extra users. If the pricing for ad-based accounts is anything to go by, adding extra users could cost around $5 per month.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.