'Genuinely considering canceling my subscription': Netflix's password-sharing clampdown sparks angry response from some users
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- Netflix has said it plans to clamp down on password sharing, and some users aren't happy.
- The streaming platform recently announced new password-sharing rules for four countries.
- A journalist and a politician are among those who have been venting on social media.
Netflix is plowing ahead with its password-sharing clampdown despite backlash from some users.
On Wednesday, the company announced it was expanding its Latin American trial to another four countries — Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. The new plans include charging account holders up to $6.50 for each additional user.
"I'm genuinely considering canceling my subscription," journalist Erin Biba said in a tweet, which amassed almost 50,000 likes.
The tweet was in response to similar rules about account sharing that were posted on Netflix's website on February 1. The company later said the guidelines had been mistakenly shared but did not say if the plans had been canceled.
Although Netflix has been proposing a stricter policy around password sharing for some time, the company told shareholders last month that it planned to start rolling out paid account sharing later this quarter. Netflix first hinted at the crackdown in July after it suffered its first subscriber loss in over a decade.
Several commentators criticized Netflix in the wake of the password-sharing clampdown.
"What am I paying for at this point @netflix? Old content that I can get elsewhere, original shows I can't rely on to progress beyond one season, and making access to the service as complicated and inconvenient as possible? What's your value?" Biba wrote in a follow-up tweet.
"This may have worked when Netflix was the only game in town, but they're not," blogger and content creator Imani Barbarin tweeted. "They have not instilled the brand loyalty necessary to justify this level of audacity."
Shannon Freshour, a politician in Ohio, wrote in a tweet directed at the streaming giant: "You're by far the most expensive streaming service w/o the value matching it. Sort your mess."
Insider previously reported that, as of April 2022, Netflix was the most expensive streaming site and that Apple TV+ was the cheapest.
Data suggests Netflix may see user numbers drop because of the new policy. A survey from US firm Jefferies found that 62% of password borrowers said they would stop using the streaming service rather than purchase an account. The survey found that only 10% of users would create their own ad-free account.
In an earnings call last month, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company was expecting to see "a bit of a cancel reaction" to the policy.
Netflix did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/tVxMpgh
via IFTTT
Comments
Post a Comment