Netflix account sharing: buy an extra member costs more than the Basic with Ads plan
Netflix announced earlier this year that it had plans to do something about the sharing of accounts. The company revealed that more than 100 million of its customers were sharing accounts with members outside of the household, even though that was disallowed by Netflix’ terms of service.
In an update to the company’s plans, published yesterday on the official Netflix website, the company announced an expansion of account sharing restrictions to more regions.
Netflix tested account sharing restrictions in South America first. Customers who shared account with members of other households could buy extra members to allow the other household to continue watching Netflix under the account.
Now, the system is launching in Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and Canada. Netflix highlights how it has added new features to the service to improve member control over their accounts and account access.
One of the main features is the primary location of an account. It is that location that Netflix uses as the basis when determining account sharing. While Netflix supports an travel option, to allow customers to watch the service when travelling, it is restricting access to the primary location for the most part.
Customers may buy an extra member, according to Netflix, if they are subscribed to the Standard or Premium plan. Netflix Basic with Ads and Basic plans do not support the option. That new account is limited to a single sub-membership, and it is good for up to two people depending on the primary account’s plan. Each of the two gets a unique profile, login and password that they use to sign-in to Netflix.
Standard plan customers get the option to add one extra member, premium plan customers the option to add up to two extra members.
The price varies from region to region. Portuguese Netflix customers pay an extra €3.99 per month, while users from across the border in Spain €5.99. In Canada, Netflix customers pay CAD $7.99 extra, and New Zealand customers NZD $7.99.
At least in some regions, Netflix’s Basic with Ads plan is cheaper than the price of the extra member plan. Basic with Ads costs $5.99 in Canada, while the extra member plan $7.99. In Spain, Netflix customers would pay €0.50 less for the Basic with Ads plan than an extra member. For and additional €2, members could get the Basic plan, which is ad-free and includes downloads support.
Netflix revealed that it will roll out the new extra member feature to more regions in the coming months. It seems likely that pricing will be similar in most regions. Basic with Ads plans, if available, will likely be a bit cheaper than the extra member option.
Standard and premium plans offer higher resolutions and downloads on more devices. Premium is the only plan that supports spatial audio.
Netflix’s plans and pricing page already highlights the ability to add an extra member in supported regions.
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