IT seems like account sharing between friends will now come to an end as Netflix will be charging members who are letting other users outside their households borrow their premium accounts.

The paid video streaming site announced on Wednesday that it will begin sending notices to members in the Philippines who are sharing their subscriptions with people who are not living with them.

In the email, users are advised to check their accounts and review the devices in which their account is signed in.

They can also transfer a profile to a new membership that extra users can pay for, or buy an extra slot for people outside their households they share their Netflix password with.

Courtesy: Netflix 

Netflix also emphasized that extra users who are not living together with the plan owner will have to get their own account.

“A Netflix account is meant to be shared by people who live together in one household. People who are not in your household will need to use their own account to watch Netflix,” the streaming giant said.

Meanwhile, standard and premium subscribers who want to add an extra account in addition to their original subscription tier will need to pay an additional P149 on top of their monthly subscription dues.

On the standard subscription, members can buy one extra member plan for someone who doesn’t live with them. Premium subscribers, on the other hand, get extra two members they can add to their subscription for P149 each.

“An extra member will have their own profile, account, and password, but their membership will be paid for by the person who invited them to join,” Netflix said.

Extra members can also enjoy the same perks as other members including access to unlimited series, films, documentaries, and shows, freedom to use the platform at home or while traveling through any internet-connected device.

They will also have the same audio-visual quality as the member who invited them and their own profile, account, and password.

However, extra users can only watch and download Netflix shows one device at a time. They are also prohibited from creating additional profiles.

Netflix first announced the password-sharing crackdown last year after losing profit and members.

The crackdown began in Latin America in 2022 and it started to roll out the same system in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain in February.

Reactions from users

Frances Callada, who is sharing her Netflix account to her family in the province, was dismayed.

In an interview with republicasia, Callada, 36, said the additional fee is both an inconvenience and an unnecessary additional expense.

“Kasi samin, for instance, ako yung plan owner tapos yung mga nakiki-share sa akin ay family ko na nasa Cavite. Ang gastos nun and ang hassle kung lahat sila babayaran ko ng P149 each just so they can continue using netflix, di ba?” she said. “Hindi naman maliit lang yung P149.”

Meanwhile, nutrition and dietetics student Kyla Apolonio, 19, said she and her friends would be forced to end their shared Netflix subscription as they could no longer afford paying extra fees in accordance with the service’s new policy.

“My friends and I are sharing one Netflix account since students pa lang kami ang we want sana to save as much money as we can while still being able to enjoy some leisurely activities like watching our favorite tv shows and movies,” the 19-year-old said in a separate interview.

Currently, they are contributing P110 each to pay for their premium subscription. She further said that they would instead buy a separate subscription plan of their own.