Netflix’s Plan Against Password Sharing Doesn’t Work, We’re Not Surprised

Netflix’s plan to ‘ban’ users from sharing their accounts has failed; and it’s not even implemented globally yet. However, the first tests of the streaming platform show that the measures taken do not have the desired effect.

The rest of the world declares that in Peru, one of the countries where this measure is already in force, its application is extremely uneven. Some users have already suffered price hikes for sharing their account with people they don’t live with; while others ignored the warnings and received no “punishment”. Added to this is growing concern from consumer protection authorities, as well as confusion among employees in charge of Netflix customer service.

The picture is far from ideal and makes it clear that Netflix still has to work out a few fundamental points of this initiative, especially if it really intends to bring it to its most important markets. For now, in addition to Peru, the price increase for those who share their accounts also extends to Chile and Costa Rica.

But the aforementioned report shows that Netflix is ​​failing in important aspects such as lack of effective communication around which are the cases to which this sanction applies. The idea of ​​the American company is that only members of the same household use the subscription; however, many users understand that a family group consisting of people living in different cities should be able to share their access. This led to claims that often led nowhere, or directly to the cancellation of the accounts in question.

Is Netflix really ready to secure control over its accounts in its most important markets?

Early attempts to avoid what Netflix sees as misuse of its accounts are not paying off in smaller markets. Therefore, the streaming platform will have to work hard in the coming months to change the perception of this measure by the public, especially given the landing in countries with a large number of customers.

After all, Netflix’s statement against shared accounts is legal. This is a business, and this is more than obvious. The problem is that the company seems to be struggling to get over the bad experience due to the recent loss of subscribers, and had no better idea than to ink its users down to the first negative in a decade.

Let’s not forget that the service is not only struggling to maintain momentum after years of confinement due to the coronavirus pandemic. Netflix has also faced a loss of interest from its longtime customers, which has added an extra layer of complexity to its recovery plan.

We’ll see what happens in the coming months, but for now, Netflix’s plan against shared accounts is far from optimal. And we can’t say that we’re too surprised.