Netflix’s password sharing crackdown is heading for Australian users

On Thursday morning, Netflix’s New Zealand customers woke up to the news that password sharing – when an account is shared beyond the household to which it is registered – had been blocked, effective immediately.

The change also applies to users in Portugal, Canada and Spain. If the company sticks to its previously announced timeline Australia will follow by the end of March, locking out users who share accounts with family, friends and partners.

The change was first flagged last April, as the streamer responded to the first backwards blip in members in a decade. But exactly how it will affect Australian customers has been far from clear.

The full details of its plans in Australia are yet to be revealed, but the conditions applying in New Zealand and elsewhere offer us a fair indication of what we can expect.

Netflix is hoping the changes will help convert a chunk of its 100 million or so non-paying customers to a source of revenue. Credit:Bloomberg

Why is this happening, and what will it cost me?
Historically, Netflix has turned a blind eye to password sharing beyond the account holder’s residence. But the deflation of the streaming bubble – Disney+ just announced it lost 2.4 million subscribers worldwide this quarter – has changed the equation, and now the company wants to convert as many of its 100 million or so freeloaders as possible into paying customers.

Netflix doesn’t want to startle the horse too much, though. If you’re one of these piggybackers, you can continue to hitch a ride on someone else’s account – you’ll just have to cough up.

In New Zealand, it will cost $7.99 to add a non-household member to the account. The cost of a core account is $18.49 for standard, to which you can add one external member, or $24.99 for premium, to which you can add two. Access will be limited to a single device at a time.

At the current exchange rate, that works out to about $A7.25 for an additional member. Netflix could round that up in Australia, but given a membership here costs $16.99 for the standard plan and $22.99 for premium, it is more likely to be rounded down.

In short, you can expect to be paying $6.99 for an additional member by the end of next month. As it happens, that’s the same price as the ad-supported plan, on which you’ll be subjected to a maximum of four minutes’ of ads per hour. Both plans allow viewing on only one screen at a time.

How can they enforce this?
The underlying change in all this is that Netflix account holders will now need to register a primary location for their subscription. This is a physical address, and up to five members at that address can be registered to it.

What if I want to watch Netflix when I’m travelling?
It will still be possible for a registered member to watch while away from home, because Netflix will use a combination of IP address, user details and one-time access codes to validate the identity of the person attempting to use the service.

You’ll still be able to watch Teaga Croft as Jessica Watson in True Spirit when you’re travelling – though maybe not on a yacht in the middle of the Pacific. Credit:Netflix

I don’t use WiFi or have a TV. Does this apply to me?
If you live in a household that doesn’t use WiFi (you watch via your mobile plan, say), or don’t have a television, you won’t need to set a primary location. That ought to mean that multiple members of the household should be able to watch on a shared account, though at the time of writing Netflix Australia was unable to confirm this. However, given enforcement will be linked to primary location, not being required to set one would seem to suggest such households are off the hook.

How many devices can I watch on?
The number of devices on which Netflix can be watched at one time is determined by your plan, but the number of devices on which it can be watched at any time is unlimited.

In other words, you could have the app installed on multiple laptops, desktops, phones and televisions attached to one account, in one or more households, but the number of screens that can be viewed simultaneously is limited by your plan (one on basic, up to six on premium with two added members outside the primary location).

Email the author at [email protected], or follow him on Facebook at karlquinnjournalist and on Twitter @karlkwin.

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