Customers in four additional countries now have to pay an additional fee for sharing their Netflix account with someone outside their household. Unfortunately, one of Netflix’ steps against password sharing could also affect frequent travelers and VPN users who don’t even share their account.
Streaming giant Netflix is continuing its fight against the widespread phenomenon that is password sharing. Besides a more or less reasonable surcharge for additional users outside the account owners household, a rather strict regulation may cause some discontent among VPN users and even customers who are traveling frequently.
First of all, Netflix has now started to charge an extra €3.99 and €5.99 per additional user in Portugal and Spain, respectively. Customers may add a total of two extra viewers outside their own household. Password sharing is now also monetized in Canada and New Zealand, which is where an additional Netflix viewer now costs 7.99 CAD and 7.99 NZD, respectively.
Even more interestingly, Netflix apparently requires its customers set a primary location in their account settings. Supposedly, users will have to log in with a local IP from this exact location at least once a month, which might be an issue for travelers who spend more than a month away from their home and would like to stream their favorite series or movies on Netflix from a different location.
Netflix password sharing crackdown may also affect VPN users
Last but not least, this new procedure could also prevent or at the very least complicate watching Netflix over a VPN in order to access certain series and movies that are only available in other countries. However, it remains unclear if and when the streaming service will introduce these password sharing changes for its millions of customers in the United States and other international markets.
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My fascination for technology goes back a long way to the Pentium II era. Modding, overclocking and treasuring computer hardware has since become an integral part of my life. As a student, I further developed a keen interest in mobile technologies that can make the stressful college life so much easier. After I fell in love with the creation of digital content while working in a marketing position, I now scour the web to bring you the most exciting topics in the world of tech. Outside the office, I’m particularly passionate about motorsports and mountain biking.
Enrico Frahn, 2023-02-12 (Update: 2023-02-12)
