To say that Netflix’s plans to ban password-sharing “angered” users is an understatement. The streaming service giant’s announced plan resulted in a massive wave of backlash, and many threatened to cancel their subscriptions to Netflix altogether. Their once-iconic tweet, “Love is sharing a password,” became the target of many online jokes and criticisms, while a collective few called their actions hypocritical.
For those unfamiliar with the new plan, let us explain. In an effort to combat “freeloaders” taking advantage of another’s account, Netflix now requires that every subscriber sets a household location, and devices that try to access that account from a different location may be blocked from watching. Your device is verified the moment you connect to the registered household location. If you want to use Netflix outside your household, you must request verification from the main account holder. Verification must be done within the next 15 minutes. If you do not observe any of these points, you will be denied access.
Love is sharing a password.
— Netflix (@netflix) March 10, 2017
However, if you want to share your account with people away from home, domestically or internationally, Netflix has created sub-accounts. Sub-accounts are an additional feature that allows two users to access the streaming service without reconnecting with the household location – but they have an additional fee. Many speculate that this will prompt account borrowers to purchase their accounts instead of burdening their friends or family members. The release was scheduled for early February, but Netflix decided to withdraw its plans, stating that the information was released by mistake. Now that you’re all caught up, here are our thoughts on Netflix’s attempts at stopping password-sharing.
It’s All About The Money
At the end of the day, Netflix is still a business that needs to make money. There were once talks of introducing ads to the platform, which also caused some backlash. As competition gets tougher, Netflix has to find a way to make money the same way it did in its heyday. Frankly, Netflix has been struggling to survive as its shows, specials, and exclusives are hit-or-miss, making the foundations for its bottom line even more shaky and uncertain. We wouldn’t mind businesses trying out new ways to stay afloat, but these tactics are simply underhanded, as they try to milk customers for all they’re worth.
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Slow And Subtle Integration
Because of the incredible backlash, Netflix decided to postpone the implementation of their new rules on password sharing; the keyword being “postpone.” Netflix may have stopped now, but that does not mean they will not try again. In a letter to shareholders, it was made clear that they want to restrict password-sharing in the first quarter of 2023. Some countries in Latin America, namely Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, are already experiencing the sub-account feature. As a response, some users decided to deactivate their accounts.
Netflix suits seem pretty hell-bent on this integration; they may simply be waiting for things to die down so that they can carefully add it to the system, country by country. If the heat doesn’t die down, however, we need to keep an eye out, just in case they try to sneak this under our noses.
Shooting Themselves In The Foot
The risk was calculated, but boy are they bad at math. Netflix didn’t anticipate the backlash, and what a backlash it was. Netflix was once hailed as the best streaming platform before the market became overcrowded. They were also the most accessible, as it was once a one-stop shop for all the shows that you wanted to watch. However, as time went on, they were slowly losing their bargaining power as people moved to other platforms or cancelled altogether. Their desperate actions to regain losses made their situation even worse, as people will not stand for something that is, for lack of a better word, a scummy business practice. Furthermore, this would only hurt them in the long run, as they have alienated their would-be subscribers with the high price alone.
Conclusion
Netflix isn’t going to back down unless something happens that causes them to not go through with the plan in its entirety. Until then, they will remain optimistic about the “potential benefits” for everyone when, in reality, only they will gain something. If Netflix reports financial growth because of this scheme, it won’t take long for other companies to join in. It won’t be long before most, if not all, of us return to the life of a pirate.
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