Netflix says around 100 million people access service for free and it will now start charging a fee

Netflix is one of the most popular video streaming services, but it is being reported that the company is losing a lot of subscribers. While the exact reason is unknown, Netflix believes that password sharing is one of the core reasons for its flagging user growth. The platform told Bloomberg that Netflix lost 2 Lakh users in the first quarter and it is predicting that the service could lose 2 million more in the second quarter.

Netflix is saying that more than 100 million households are using the service for free as those people are sharing passwords with other users, which is affecting its business financially. This is the reason why Netflix recently launched a test in a few regions and started charging users for sharing passwords. It has expanded this test to more regions.

“Today’s widespread account sharing between households undermines our long-term ability to invest in and improve our service,” Chengyi Long, a director of production innovation, said in a blog post.

Netflix starts charging users for sharing password

The report says that users who are based in five Latin America countries will now be required to pay extra if their account is being used in an additional home. People living in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic will now have to spend extra for password sharing.

So, a user will be able to use Netflix at their home and will also be able to watch it while traveling, but if they try to share it with any other friend or people outside their household, then they will be charged a fee. Netflix is saying that if a user’s account is found to be used by multiple households for more than two weeks, then it will send an in-app notification asking them to pay extra. The additional home will cost $2.99 in some countries, which is around Rs 240 in India when converted.

When will Netflix start charging Indians for password sharing?

Currently, Netflix is strictly against password sharing as it is experiencing financial issues due to this. While the company hasn’t yet revealed when it will start charging people in India, we do know that a similar test will likely be conducted in the Indian market too, in the near future. Netflix is gradually expanding this test. At first, the service started charging for password sharing in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. It has expanded this to more countries. So, it is unlikely to exclude India from its list, which is one of the important markets for Netflix.