Netflix will soon make US users pay to share accounts

polygon.com:

For months, the specter of Netflix ending password sharing has haunted U.S. customers. It seems that change is finally on the horizon, according to Netflix’s latest letter to shareholders. “In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results,” Netflix said. “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.” This new initiative called “paid sharing,” will essentially require users to pay an extra membership fee in order to add profiles for those living outside the household of the account owner.

In February, Netflix shared details on what this paid account sharing system would actually look like. It’s a bit confusing but here’s the core of it: Account holders will need to indicate a “primary location,” and people physically living in that household — people who are on the home’s network — can use that account. Users will have to pay more to support profiles for people who live outside the home.

Just how many accounts will be affected, you might ask? Though it didn’t specify number of individual accounts, Netflix’s shareholder letter indicates account sharing is used in more than 100 million households. Netflix didn’t specify whether that just meant users’ additional profiles included within an account owner’s subscription tier, or whether that included hangers-on (like your younger brother who mooches off your goodwill) who happen to have a password they can use to log onto your account.

Netflix currently offers multiple subscription tiers, some of which allow account holders to add additional profiles. Right now, only the two most expensive subscriptions — Standard ($15.49/month) and Premium ($19.99/month) — allow users to add extra members. Standard means you get one extra