Netflix continues to struggle with account sharing and is now testing a new feature to charge subscribers extra for each additional “house” that the account is used for, outside the main home where the account was created.
In places like Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic (thanks to Polygon), Netflix has started testing in which it requires $2.99 for each additional family watching content on the same account, outside of the main home the account was created on.
In these testing areas, each account has a “Main Home” where they can watch Netflix content on any device in the home and on the go, on laptops or mobile devices, without any additional payments.
From August 22, an option will be added to each account that allows you to add an “extra house”, if you will only watch content on a new device for two weeks, during the holidays, for example, you do not need to pay but any use after this time will incur an additional fee .
Netflix explains how to define “home,” a physical location where you can use the service on multiple devices. This is detected and verified by IP, device identifiers, and account activity.
If you are using a device within the main home and receive a notification that multiple homes are using your account, you can try to connect the device to the same internet connection as the others.
Netflix’s Chengyi Long says, “It’s great that our members love Netflix movies and series so much that they want to share them more widely, but the current home sharing undermines our long-term investment capacity and service improvement.”
Salman Rushdie is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, politics, literature, and international affairs. He focuses on delivering clear, informative reporting that helps readers understand the people, events, and trends influencing today’s world.
