It was a good run, but Netflix password sharing has come to a close
All good things come to an end, with Netflix password sharing being one of them. We’re probably all guilty of using Netflix shared accounts, yet it honestly feels as if we shouldn’t hold that weight onto ourselves. Since its birth, the video streaming service has offered an entertaining lifestyle we’ve grown accustomed to. It’s a digital pastime all ages can experience. Yet setting limitations to how we utilize the platform just feels off.
Netflix password sharing is ending in 2023. The company received a huge uptick in subscribers during the pandemic and followed with increased monthly rates. From a business perspective it only makes sense that they try to find more ways to profit, and they will finally make the decision to restrict the one thing we all have taken for granted.
“Make no mistake, I don’t think consumers are going to love it right out of the gate,” stated Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
According to reports, Netflix will be increasing the price of their monthly subscription for users with Netflix shared accounts. The sudden, inevitable change was something many saw coming from a mile away, but long-time users may feel a bit cheated as the new policy can possibly kill the video streaming culture.
It wasn’t long ago when Netflix tweeted out in 2016, “love is sharing a password”. The fact they even embraced its usage only to eventually shut it down, all while monetizing on the common video streaming feature — it’s not a good look.
Analysts at Cowen Inc. estimate that the update will create an additional $721 million in revenue in the United States and Canada in 2023. There hasn’t been any confirmation of the monthly price change, nor an exact date of when it will happen. That said, we should expect it to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2023, according to Netflix’s shareholder letter.