Netflix will start a test in certain countries that would require primary account holders to pay an extra price to add other users outside of their own home, Variety says, in an effort to tighten down on password sharing outside of families.
Users will be charged $2.99 to add a sub-member outside of their household in the test, which will only be available in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. In a blog post on the impending trial, Netflix’s head of product innovation, Chengyi Long, stated that the firm is striving to make it easier to share an account.
“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans,” Long wrote. “While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”
Long also clarified that these tests are only being done so Netflix can observe the effectiveness of adding the optional fee. “We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world,” she added.
In an effort to prevent password sharing, Netflix is also testing a tool that allows users to move profiles to other accounts in the three countries. There are currently no plans to implement any of these modifications on a permanent basis in other nations.