new York
CNN
—
Netflix officially begins its crackdown on users who share passwords in the United States.
The streaming video company said on Tuesday it is now sending emails to all U.S. subscribers who share passwords with people outside their household, as part of a long-planned initiative to limit sharing passwords.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with – your home,” the email reads, along with options for how to share the account.
To share an account with someone outside of a household, a user can transfer a profile to a new subscription that they pay for or add an additional member to their account for an additional monthly fee of $7.99.
Netflix previously turned a blind eye to password sharing because it fueled growth. However, last year it said it would crack down on password sharing because it hurts its bottom line. He previously estimated that more than 100 million households worldwide share an account.
The company began cracking down on password sharing in several countries earlier this year, including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.
Netflix (NFLX) recently reported a net increase of 1.75 million global streaming subscribers in the first quarter, up nearly 5% from the same period a year earlier, but below the more than 3 million Wall Street analysts expected.
Netflix said in an earnings call last month that it saw a “cancellation response in every market when we break the news” about the paid sharing option, but then sees “an increase acquisitions and revenues”.