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Television Movies

Netflix Password-Sharing Crackdown Will Roll Out Globally In 'Early 2023' (theverge.com) 77

As part of Netflix's earning results today, which says the company reversed customer losses, Netflix plans to crack down on password sharing beginning in 2023. The Verge reports: After giving users the ability to transfer their profiles to new accounts last week, the streamer says it will start letting subscribers create sub-accounts starting next year in line with its plans to "monetize account sharing" more widely. [...] Earlier this year, Netflix reported losing subscribers for the first time in over 10 years, with the company's subscriber count dipping by another 1.3 million in the US and Canada and 1 million worldwide last quarter. To remedy this, Netflix has also been slowly nudging subscribers away from password sharing. The company conducted tests that prompted users in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru to pay extra for a sub-account if Netflix detected someone was using the owner's subscription outside of their household.

It also tried out a way for users in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic to buy additional "homes" for accounts located outside of the subscriber's primary household. More recently, Netflix widely introduced a Profile Transfer tool that lets users easily transfer their personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings to a new account after testing it in other countries. Last month, a report from Rest of World revealed frustration from users subject to the tests in Latin America.
The earnings report (PDF) projects that the company's new ad-supported streaming service, which starts at $6.99 per month and launches in November, will help attract 4.5 million subscribers by year's end. This quarter it added 2.4 million subscribers and grew by 104,000 paid subscribers in the U.S. and Canada over the last three months, up from 73,000 in the same period last year.
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Netflix Password-Sharing Crackdown Will Roll Out Globally In 'Early 2023'

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  • by saloomy ( 2817221 )
    Gotta change my password on NYE and delete the other profiles I guess. :/
  • Netflix has no content. Netflix needs waaaayy more content before I would ever consider subscribing at any level.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      Netflix has no content. Netflix needs waaaayy more content before I would ever consider subscribing at any level.

      I don't know where you live and how much free time you have, but it boggles my mind that you think the service needs "waaaayy more content" and/or that the "have no content."

      In 2021 they spent fourteen billion dollars on content. I could watch Netflix for 8 hours per day for weeks on end and never get through it all. They have over fifteen-hundred original programs alone, and something like

      • Re:No Content (Score:5, Insightful)

        by dfm3 ( 830843 ) on Tuesday October 18, 2022 @05:35PM (#62978225) Journal
        Netflix has no quality content. Netflix needs waaaayy more quality content before I would ever consider subscribing at any level.

        There, fixed it. I know it's subjective, but there's a whole lot of content on there that is basically crap. And even when there is something that the GP or I feel is worth watching, it's nearly impossible to discover on your own because of their algorithmically determined lists that seem to shove all the crap front and center in their UI. You basically have to get recommendations from outside the service and search for the good content by name.
        • "Netflix has no quality content. Netflix needs waaaayy more quality content before I would ever consider subscribing at any level."

          That's right. Put your foot down. Power to the man! You take that $7 and spend it on something else of better cost/value. I'm sure $7 will get you far. Almost 1/2 way through one movie in a theatre... or two cups of okay coffee.

      • Re:No Content (Score:5, Insightful)

        by skam240 ( 789197 ) on Tuesday October 18, 2022 @05:49PM (#62978267)

        Agreed. As of writing this post I flipped over to my Netflix account and right there on my accounts home page a new Netflix original was being advertised to me that just dropped and I'm interested in watching. They've probably produce more original shows that I've legitimately enjoyed watching then any other streaming service in fact.

        I think some people just assume that because they don't like the programming on Netflix that no one must. Center of the universe types or triggered "anti-wokers" who will find wokeness in anything maybe.

        • Most of their own content is pulp, and most of the time anything worthwhile is stuff they bought up, not actual Netflix originals. Sure, some of it can be mildly interesting or entertaining, but rarely is it actually good and hardly any of their original content gets viewed more than once by anybody. Stranger Things is one of the notable exceptions, and one of the few series that actually made it past a season 2. What else do they have? Seriously, without looking what's another big hit series or movie the
          • Castlevania.
          • Most of their own content is pulp

            Most content is pulp period. Excellent shows are few across the many producers of content. Your issue is you compare Netflix to *everything else*, then yes, the volume will seem low. But that is true for any single publisher.

            There are some damn good, well written and highly regarded shows on Netflix. There are stinkers too, it would be daft to assume any service only produces quality.

            What else do they have? Seriously, without looking what's another big hit series or movie they produced?

            Arcane, The Witcher 3, Bridgeton, Squid Game, Love Death and Robots, Peaky Blinders, The Umbrella Academy, The Crown, Dirk Ge

          • What else do they have? Seriously, without looking what's another big hit series or movie they produced?

            "The Crown" is on to season 4 and is critically acclaimed. "House of Cards" dropped off a bit in the last two of its 6 seasons, but the first few seasons were a hit. "Drive to Survive" is a docudrama that seems to be driving a surge in Formula 1's popularity in new markets.

          • by skam240 ( 789197 )

            https://slashdot.org/comments.... [slashdot.org] "I think some people just assume that because they don't like the programming on Netflix that no one must. Center of the universe types or triggered "anti-wokers" who will find wokeness in anything maybe."

      • by narcc ( 412956 )

        Okay... but does it have any content worth watching?

        • Okay... but does it have any content worth watching?

          Yes. Thousands and thousands and thousands of hours' worth.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

    • It lacks quality original content. It has tons of "content" but much of it is just trash. I spend more time looking for something on netflix, going over to rotten tomatoes, seeing it has a 45% score, going back, rinse and repeat ad nauseum.

      I let my membership lapse for about 5 months, signed back up, and found there was maybe six hours worth of stuff that I cared to see. Pass.
    • What service will you be going to that has piles of quality content?
      • Not who you're asking, but my response:

        HBO - arguably a nostalgia act at this point, as new content is iffy at times. But they still have decent documentary series (The Vow, Heaven's Gate) and sometimes they eek out out accidentally before destroying it so badly even long-term fans hate them for it (Game of Thrones).

        Prime - The Expanse. The best attempt at hard sci-fi you'll ever see on a streaming service. Most sci-fi on streaming is either space-opera, or bad horror with some flashing lights to get that s

        • Not who you're asking, but my response:

          HBO - arguably a nostalgia act at this point, as new content is iffy at times. But they still have decent documentary series (The Vow, Heaven's Gate) and sometimes they eek out out accidentally before destroying it so badly even long-term fans hate them for it (Game of Thrones).

          Prime - The Expanse. The best attempt at hard sci-fi you'll ever see on a streaming service. Most sci-fi on streaming is either space-opera, or bad horror with some flashing lights to get that sci-fi crowd. Oh, and the new category, actors & actresses as robots so they can skip the flashing lights and still get that sci-fi crowd. Now, comedy? Fleabag and Marvelous Mrs. Maysel slay, and I'd defy anyone to find funnier shows that manage to be female focused without going full-blown preachy about it.

          Hulu - Good originals sometimes. Reservation Dogs was shockingly good so far. Their imports they refer to as originals as well. Letterkenny and Shoresy are some of the best comedy of the modern age, if you don't mind Canadians making fun of Canadian tropes. Poking around their originals turns up more winners than duds still. Though with Disney holding the strings, it's questionable how long that'll last.

          Now, there's an argument to be made that HBO is fast eating itself since the WB takeover. Prime has Rings of Power right now, which is either a good thing or the most sacrilegious travesty in the history of the universe depending on your view of Tolkien and whether or not you can separate the original works from these newer derivative works. Hulu doesn't seem to have any big contenders at the moment outside of either comedy or dramedy that sometimes turns tragic. But I'd take any one of those three over Netflix today if it had to be a choice. Who knows if I'll feel that way next year?

          I do not Know about you, but I was born and raised in Venezuela, so I sa a lot of LatAm programming, also spent a month studying english in toronto, a month studying french in Laussane, another montyh Studying French in Paris, and a whole year doing my masters' in Madrid. I was the type of guy that went to the Franch/Italian/Spanish cinema festivals (in the before times, before my country went to shit).

          For me it was a breath of fresh air away from USoA dominated content to watch Lupin, La casa de Papel, O M

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      Netflix has no content.

      It used to have a pretty good selection. Particularly when it was DVD-based. But that started to die off, probably due to studios changing strategies in content distribution. Netflix had a feature where you could search for a DVD and if they didn't have it, they would acquire it. I still have a standing list and they were pretty good about adding content to their library if I didn't mind waiting. But now the availability on the remaining selections just says "Unknown". And that hasn't changed in a long time

      • Thanks for the reminder. I used to check our local library every few months for streaming options and was always disappointed. I just checked after reading your post and they have a free option for members where you can watch six movie titles or some number of TV episodes (based on time) per month. That's pretty rad for somebody just looking to catch the odd movie or show you can't find elsewhere. We'll have to check the selections this evening.

    • No. Netflix has content. They just tend to skirt around the concept of quality content in the name of quantity of content.

      The best thing I've seen on there is Ryan Reynolds' pet project Free Guy. It's a great movie in comparison to the usual drivel, but holding that up as your tentpole is a sad statement on their desire to churn out quantity over quality. Have Ryan Reynolds play Deadpool without playing Deadpool? Of COURSE it's gonna be a fun ride. If only they were smart enough to work with real talent for

  • by GotNoRice ( 7207988 ) on Tuesday October 18, 2022 @05:20PM (#62978197)
    This is like what Hulu tries to do and it, quite frankly, has become a shitshow. For example, when I try to watch Hulu away from home, I can do it fine using my phone, tablet, or computer. But if I try to watch it using a TV app or even a Firestick connected to a TV, it is subject to different restrictions for some reason. So when I watch Hulu on a TV while at work, I can do it with a dedicated computer hooked up to the TV but not with the apps on the TV itself. These random arbitrary restrictions are pointless and extremely anti-consumer. One thing that is for sure, is that content that is downloaded for free on the internet has none of these restrictions! You only get screwed if you pay...
    • by mark-t ( 151149 )
      What restrictions are you finding the TV app has that are particularly intrusive, exactly? I'm curious, as this is wholly different from my own experience using a Netflix app on a smart television, which has a different UI than using it on a computer, but the content is identical.
    • The apps get a long lived authentication token so you don't have to login every time, and they probably limit how many those can be issued at one time. Maybe delete old devices from your account?

      • No, I actually called and asked them about it. When you try to use Hulu on one of these devices (such as a TV app, or via Firestick, Roku, etc), it will ask you if you want to "change your home location". It allows you to do that 4 times per year max, and then you are stuck, so it's not something you can do every time you go back and forth between the office and home. If I changed my home location to the Office, then it would not be usable at home until it was changed it again. But... I can view hulu ju
  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Tuesday October 18, 2022 @05:25PM (#62978201)
    But how little content they have that anyone actually wants. This is going to result in a mass subscriber Exodus but whatever idiot pushed this through we'll get a bonus that quarter and move on to another job before the shit hits the fan.

    One of the side effects of making everyone a disposable and replaceable cog is everybody is always looking for the next job. And so they're focused on accomplishments that look good on paper.
    • by skam240 ( 789197 )

      >quote>This is going to result in a mass subscriber Exodus but whatever idiot pushed this through we'll get a bonus that quarter and move on to another job before the shit hits the fan.

      How do you figure any of that? All they're doing is pushing people off their service that arent paying for it. If anything they'll probably gain subscribers as some will choose to get their own log in so they can continue the service.

      • All they're doing is pushing people off their service that arent paying for it. If anything they'll probably gain subscribers as some will choose to get their own log in so they can continue the service.

        Picture this: you subscribe and share with a bro, and perceive that as a good value. But if you can't share it, you cease to perceive it as a good value. You and your bro learn how to torrent. And they lose one paying customer. (I'm not saying that's moral or anything, just that it's a possible result.)

        • by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Most folks arent tech savvy enough for torrenting (and yes I know it's stupid easy) and amongst those who are I've met quite a lot who wont for a variety of reasons such as ethical or computer security concerns.

          Also, Netflix is still pretty fucking cheap. In my experience it's hard to even find a decent deli made sandwich made for less than what I pay for a months worth of Netflix. For those who found value in having it for free I'd be surprised if they didnt finish ahead in regards to money on this and I i

        • All they're doing is pushing people off their service that arent paying for it. If anything they'll probably gain subscribers as some will choose to get their own log in so they can continue the service.

          Picture this: you subscribe and share with a bro, and perceive that as a good value. But if you can't share it, you cease to perceive it as a good value. You and your bro learn how to torrent. And they lose one paying customer. (I'm not saying that's moral or anything, just that it's a possible result.)

          Picture this instead:
          You share with a brethen the $20 plan and at $10 each, say, one is a very smart lawyer and the other is a very smart chemical engineer.

          You both perceive that as a GREAT value. Now, Netflix cracks on you two, but you do not want to mess with the complications of piracy (with the potential legal liabilities associated with it)...

          So, you both move to the basic $10 a month plan. Granted, now you and your brethen can only watch at 720p (instead of 4K) and only on one device (instead of four)

          • The downside is they both cancel and sign up for HBO max which has better shows.

            • The downside is they both cancel and sign up for HBO max which has better shows.

              HBO max may have better shows for your taste, but who knows about their taste. Maybe they do not like DC comics, GoT and Friends much, and instead like shows from other countries, so they like to watch "Lupin", or "the 3%" , or "O mecanismo", or "La casa de papel" or "Squidd game"

              Who knows, every human on the planet has a different taste, and we are almost 8Milliards...

              • Statistically speaking there are people who will cancel and move to other streaming services resulting in over all lower subscriber rates which is the thing NF is trying to fix. They will fail. As you just agreed they do not have the best content for everyone so those people will leave.

                How much NF stock do you own?

      • by hazem ( 472289 )

        All they're doing is pushing people off their service that arent paying for it.

        I live at my place but spend most of my time at my partner's. If I'm watching Netflix, it's either here or there, not both. It already costs more than every other streaming service at $20/month. If they "crack down", I'm just dropping it because I can get all the old content they show from the library.

        • by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Huh, I wonder how many people subscribe to the premium service. My $10 dollar account is all I've ever had.

          • Huh, I wonder how many people subscribe to the premium service. My $10 dollar account is all I've ever had.

            Actually more people than you think. Who subscribes to premium? Whomever has 25Mbps and up internet + a 4K TV may consider subscribing to Premium since in netflix, 4K is resctrited to premium alone, and thanks to TV makers, HDR is rectricted to 4K only (bad tv makers! Bad! :-( ).

            Some people do not have fast enough internet, but good eyesight, those may subscribe to standard, to get 1080p (no use paying for 4K if the internet where you live can not deliver)

            People like me, with poor eyesight, we get basic, si

            • I had the 4K service for a while. I see a little difference on the video, but not enough to justify the cost. The sound was the main reason I upgraded, but the only shows that really make use of Atmos effectively are Mike Flanagan's. The content in general doesn't justify $20 (or even $16).

              More on topic (and I know I keep bringing this up), how does this affect t-Mobile customers? We have a family plan split across three houses. Do they want two upcharges? Its currently my Netflix account, but if t
          • I have netflix installed on 2 tablets 2 phones and 2 roku devices. Those are mine. One roku device is hooked up into my rv, which means its ip address is variavle.

            If they try to block me they will lose me complately

            • I have netflix installed on 2 tablets 2 phones and 2 roku devices. Those are mine. One roku device is hooked up into my rv, which means its ip address is variavle.

              If they try to block me they will lose me complately

              ALL your IP addresses are variable ;-)

              The only difference is the rate/speed at which the addresses vary ;-)

              Allegedly, Netflix will use more than just the IP address to decide if a device is "outside your house" or not...

              But, to each his/her own, if they block any of your devices, and you can not resolve the situation with customer support, feel free to drop them. Is your right. Vote will your wallet we say in /.

        • All they're doing is pushing people off their service that arent paying for it.

          I live at my place but spend most of my time at my partner's. If I'm watching Netflix, it's either here or there, not both. It already costs more than every other streaming service at $20/month. If they "crack down", I'm just dropping it because I can get all the old content they show from the library.

          Have you tought of getting a Basic-without ads subscription for 9.99 a month for your house and a $9.99 subscription for your partner's house?
          9.99 is for the service without ads and, if the only thing you watch is "old stuff that is already in the local library" you will be quite Ok with the 720p limit.

          https://help.netflix.com/en/no... [netflix.com]

          Also, I hear they are mulling/testing the idea of "Extra users" & "extra houses". So maybe, you could go to a lower priced plan (without ads, say for $15 a month) and use

          • What applies to his situation is his account is verifiably in use at a single location at all times yet he will have to pay for multiple lesser subs.

            The sub should belong to the person not the address. My home doesn't have a credit card and email address. I do.

            • The sub should belong to the person not the address. My home doesn't have a credit card and email address. I do.

              Remember Landlines? That sub also belonged to the house.
              What about your Natual gas, water?
              Your 5G fixed intenet with geo-fencing?
              Did you read netflix's ToS? Those state that the sub is per household, not per person.

              Do you want a per-person streaming service? Read the ToS until you find one to suit your use case.

              • A "household" doesn't require a "house". A homeless person watching netflix in their tent is a valid subscriber, for example, but they may shift locations and watch from various couch-surfs, the library, etc.
              • None of those things are the same as my internet based streaming digital entertainment service.

                They can have any ToS they want. I can take my money elsewhere. Everyone is happy. I hope their ToS is more important to them than having my money because that's what's going to happen.

    • by danda ( 11343 )

      yep yep, I'm gleefully waiting for this to backfire on them in a big way.

    • by mark-t ( 151149 )

      But how little content they have that anyone [that has the same tastes as me and thinks like I do] actually wants.

      ftfy.

    • So you are thinking that making it harder for people to freeload off the service, is somehow going to cause paying subscribers that should see no change, to stop subscribing?

      Now if the service becomes less usable because of this, sure. But if the only people that can't get in any more are password sharers, how does that affect paying subscribers in any way, other than getting an annoyed text message from the freeloader on their account?

      • is somehow going to cause paying subscribers that should see no change, to stop subscribing?

        Not sure how you see no change. If you share Netflix with another house and you each foot the bill and suddenly each of you are forced to pay the full bill off yourself you may have misgivings about the situation. Freeloading and sharing are not the same thing.

        • is somehow going to cause paying subscribers that should see no change, to stop subscribing?

          Not sure how you see no change. If you share Netflix with another house and you each foot the bill and suddenly each of you are forced to pay the full bill off yourself you may have misgivings about the situation. Freeloading and sharing are not the same thing.

          You are correct in that sharing is not necesarily freeloading...

          But the sharers can also consider moving to cheaper plans. If you were in the premium plan ($20 a month/2) both sharers could move to the Basic-no-ads plan for the same price as before ($10x2).

          Granted, you only get 720p instead of 4k and one device instead of 4, but still you get your content, and do not need to learn a new app, or lose your recomendarions and stuff.

          They are giving you choices, while being more firm in enforcing the ToS that we

          • They are charging more to get less.

            A lot of people won't like that and will cancel. The market is competitive.

            Most people once they start a random sub will keep it forever even if they don't use it until some trigger event forces them to think about it.

            This is a trigger event.

            • They are charging more to get less.

              A lot of people won't like that and will cancel. The market is competitive.

              Most people once they start a random sub will keep it forever even if they don't use it until some trigger event forces them to think about it.

              This is a trigger event.

              I think that's the part that a lot of folks aren't getting. Netflix is a subscription that you sign up for and forget whether you use it regularly or not. If they go out of their way to jump up and down and say, "Hey, everybody! Pay attention!" there will be attrition. Even if it's just a number of people going, "Shit! I still have that? Cancel."

              And as you say, asking people to pay more for either the same or less? Insta-kill for most of us. We're a lazy lot, but not so lazy we won't slap the hand reaching

    • Remember the Good Old Days when Netflix was $7.99 a month to get 8-ish DVDs per month sent to you by mail, and the streaming thing was a freebie fringe benefit? Remember installing Microsoft Silverlight, a plugin which nobody ever needed for any other purpose other than to watch Netflix, on on your computers? And then, a miracle happened. Netflix obtained the rights to stream the Starz library, and they had a killer app. That deal expired, and ever since, it's been a mishmash of some good and some awful con

  • by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Tuesday October 18, 2022 @07:09PM (#62978453)

    Netflix (and all the other big name streamers) has(have) so much content that veryone should be able to find enough content that appeals to their taste that they will not have enough time to watch it all...

    Every single human has different tastes, and those tastes evolve, so, what happens is that what you think is garbage, will appeal/be a treasure to someone else.

    When I was a kid, I watched Jaques Cousteau documentaries at 3pm and Scooby-doo at 5pm on RCTV (La hora de Hanna-Barbera, for more reference).
    Now that I am an adult, I do not find Scooby-doo that appealing anymore, but I still watch underwater documentaries, I even became a Scuba diver myself.

    If I find Scooby-doo in a streaming service, it will be garbage for me at this age, but probably a treassure for a parent with little kids.
    Meanwhile, I know people that could get bored out of their mind with scuba diving documentaries, or worse, genuinely scared, like my mom (she almost died in a flood in her school, and saw classmates and teachers drown). For people like that, my treasure is their trash.

    So, saying Netflix (or any other big streaming service, for that matter) has "no content" is, at the very least, a very arrogant thing to say...

    PS: Info on RCTV:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • I guess it really finally is time to hoist ye ol pirate flag.
  • Have fun trying to solve this "household" problem...Is that some christian midwest mom idea? I have a place where I live most of the time Then we have a room/flat in the city, where my partner lives I spend weekends in the mountains. And weeks of holidays over the world My kids sometime live with their mom, sometimes with me. Sometimes we access with WLAN, sometimes over Mobile Connections. I pay 25$ per month for 4 concurrent users and expect Netflix to fully support this usage pattern, without any hindra
    • You know, Netflix could have done themselves and the users a huge favor by simply updating their policy to cover concurrent users. Our house could get by with one fairly easily, as we only double-up about three times a year, and those three times? One of them will be both of us on Netflix. The other two will be one watching a favorite DVD or Bluray. But for bigger families, with kids, four seems reasonable and it really shouldn't matter to them where those four people are. If 4 concurrent is being paid for?

  • I think it's the recent corporate trend of always expecting profits to keep growing. Netflix hit some inevitable problems with new competition from other studios and increased difficulty of licensing existing stuff. Instead of adapting to this new reality though, some bright spark decided that, if they have less subscribers, but charge each one more, they'll be getting just as much money as before. Hurray! Then they were shocked to find that a lot of people started unsubscribing. So how do they deal with th

  • "I think you need to make an exception in my case. I'm keeping my top-tier subscription mostly because while I watch a few programs here and there, my retired mother uses it more. You can look at my logs and see we're not large consumers."

    "No exceptions. You'll need to add another "house" rider."

    "Okay, I'm out. Please cancel."

    "Wait..."

    Or maybe they'll hold firm. And I move on.

    • Also look at their "traveling" policy (quotes from the article). No more than two weeks in one location without a rider. So if I take a three week vacation (or I'm traveling for work), they expect me to pay more.
  • Its going to be interesting to see how Netflix handles this in terms of location and disconnected familiies. I'm divorced with a 17 year old and a 21 year old in another state. But I've also re-married and have a wife and kids here. So here locally I have a family with 3 iPhones, an iPad and 2 Apple TVs. The 17 year old lives with her Mom in another state and uses my Netflix account on her phone, Mac, iPad, and a Smart TV (the ex doesn't use it). My 21 year old is on her own (not living with her mom), but a
  • I am a password sharer. I share my password with my wife. My wife lives with me. She sometimes watches netflix on her own. It's only a matter of time before Netflix cuts one of us off, and i have a giant pain in the ass and waste of time fixing it. I might well fix it by cancelling netflix. At some point, it isn't worth the pita.

  • There will be a tsunami of cancellations. Netflix has some good content but the majority is fluff just like cable was. People really don't have to have netflix. Their niche was that they had some variery, they were cheaper than cable and you share across locations. If you can't share when you go on trips then I see the cancellations coming.

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