Netflix expands its password-sharing restrictions to India
Users in the country are allowed to transfer their profiles to new accounts.
What you need to know
- Indian users who share their account passwords outside their households will receive a new email shortly.
- It will indicate users to manage their devices and transfer profiles for accounts, not from the same households.
- The strategy is expected to expand to more countries like Indonesia and Kenya.
Netflix in India has stated that it will send a new email to users sharing the streaming service subscription outside their households in the country.
One of the best streaming platforms has initially started restricting users from sharing passwords outside their households by setting up their primary location. The move first came to Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S. However, the streaming company is expanding to countries like India.
As part of the change, in its announcement blog post, Netflix stated that it would be sending an email to users who often share their account passwords outside their households. It has been a tradition that's been used very widely, especially in vast markets like India.
While emphasizing Netflix's flexibility to view on personal devices like the phone or TV at home or hotel, the company recommends transferring profiles if someone uses their account outside their households. Provided, they need to take a subscription separately.
The approach for the Indian market is slightly different because, for users in the U.S., Netflix is allowed to add an extra member to the existing plan if that person is using the account outside the household.
In yesterday's earnings announcement, Netflix stated that in countries like India, Indonesia, Croatia, and Kenya, it isn't offering the ability to add extra member options because it recently cut the prices of all plans in those regions. India has one of the lowest Netflix rates compared to the recently axed "Basic" plan (not for India) dubbed Netflix Mobile, which starts at Rs 149 ($1.82) that allows users to watch Netflix on either one phone or a tablet.
Netflix further mentioned in the earnings call that "tackling account sharing between households has been another focus as it undermines our ability to invest to improve Netflix for our paying members and grow our business." The investment here includes putting money into "new films and TV shows," the company added in the announcement blog post.
Get the top Black Friday deals right in your inbox: Sign up now!
Receive the hottest deals and product recommendations alongside the biggest tech news from the Android Central team straight to your inbox!
After India, the regions mentioned above might soon notice account and password-sharing restrictions. Users in these regions are recommended to use the transfer profile tool and get a new suitable subscription plan to continue using Netflix.
Vishnu is a freelance news writer for Android Central. Since 2018, he has written about consumer technology, especially smartphones, computers, and every other gizmo connected to the internet. When he is not at the keyboard, you can find him on a long drive or lounging on the couch binge-watching a crime series.