Australians this morning are waking up to emails and confirmation screens from Netflix to identify the primary household of the account as the streaming services cracks down on password sharing.
Netflix has tested and launched the restrictions in other countries, and it’s finally reached Australia.
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“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with – your household,” Netflix said in an email to its customers.
“You can easily watch Netflix on the go and when you travel – either on your personal devices or a TV at a hotel or holiday home.”
The streaming service used the IP address of your home to determine which devices connected to the account are also at the same address. It asks users to confirm devices and to begin logging out of those at other households.
For those who wish to continue sharing an account, Netflix has introduced an “extra member” option for those on standard or premium plans.
Depending on the plan of the account, people can add one or two extra members for $7.99 per month – but it will only work on just one device at another location.
It’s a massive blow for people who particularly share their accounts with older parents or children who have just moved out. It will also hurt the hip pockets of those who share account purely to save a few dollars.
The changes come as Netflix revealed earlier in the year “over 100 million households are sharing accounts”. It argued the loss in revenue prevented the service in investing in “great new TV and films”.
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