Netflix Tests Forcing Users to Pay to Stream From More Than One Address
Netflix’s latest effort to extract revenue from password-sharing users involves charging paying subscribers extra to stream from more than one home address.
Netflix plans on testing the “add a home” payment model in certain Latin American countries next month. The new payment system gives the subscriber only one home address from which to stream Netflix. For each additional address, the customer has to pay $2.99 per month.
“Members on the Basic plan can add one extra home, Standard up to two extra, and Premium up to three extra,” the company wrote(Opens in a new window) in a blog post.
However, it’s important to note Netflix will allow you to stream if you’re outside your home, traveling, or on a commute. The company suggests it can detect this by checking if you're watching Netflix on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
But when it comes to residential addresses, the company says(Opens in a new window) it can determine who’s streaming while at home by looking at information “such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account.”
To implement the new payment model, Netflix is going to update affected user accounts with a new settings panel that will allow them to select and configure the home addresses from which they can stream Netflix.
Users will no doubt bemoan the upcoming test. But Netflix says it needs to crack down on the password sharing in order to fund the video-streaming service.
“It’s great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much they want to share them more broadly. But today’s widespread account sharing between households undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve our service,” the company wrote in the blog post. Back in April,
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