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Netflix is making sweeping changes in how it allows users on its platform. After unveiling a new ad-supported tier for users in the US, which will be made available to users in other countries, the streaming giant is trying its best to stop users from sharing their passwords with friends and family.
Netflix has been struggling to regain subscribers and recover its revenue. Earlier this year, the company began testing new ways to prevent users from sharing their passwords with others. Now Netflix is rolling out a new “Profile Transfer” feature that will let users migrate their profile from someone else’s account to a new one.
Netflix announced on Monday that it would start cracking down on password sharing by implementing one of its actions. Netflix can identify multiple logins to the same account from different locations. In several Latin American countries, users are required to pay a small fee for these extra members.
Netflix will let users transfer an existing profile to a new or different account. This allows viewers to carry their viewing recommendations and history to a new account. This is so that users, who have borrowed passwords from friends, do not get dissuaded from having to set up their profile all over again and that they may go ahead and get a new subscription for themselves.
Netflix hopes this way, users who borrow passwords get motivated to buy their subscriptions.
However, there are some challenges that Netflix will face. The premise that users borrowing passwords from other users will see this new feature as a reason to get their account is flawed.
Moreover, the most basic Netflix plan in the US and most European countries cost about $6.99, and it’s the European equivalent for a month. The ad-supported tier will limit content streaming to 720p resolution, which, when mobile devices have 2K and 4K screens, won’t go down well with many users.
Furthermore, convincing users who have had the complete Netflix experience for free, expecting them to pay for a new subscription that not only has a limited streaming quality but also serves about 4-5 minutes of ads for every 60 minutes of content, will be a tall order.
