Netflix users to stop sharing passwords in 2023

It is predicted to be a challenge for both viewers and Netflix.

The company has put away this moment for years.

According to researchers inside Netflix, password sharing has been highlighted as a major problem eating into subscriptions in 2019.

People familiar with the situation say, that the company was worried about how to address it without alienating its customers.

However, when Covid hit, it brought a new wave of subscribers and Netflix therefore put aside the thought of eliminating password sharing.

According to reliable sources, Netflix did not pursue a plan to crack down on the practice until this year.

At a company gathering outside Los Angeles, a Netflix executive, Reed Hastings, told fellow executives, that the pandemic boom had masked the extent of the password sharing issue, and that the company had taken too long to deal with it.

More than 100 million Netflix viewers now watch the service using passwords they borrow, often from family members or friends, the company says.

Netflix has confirmed that it will put to an end to that arrangement starting in 2023, asking people who share accounts to pay to do so.

The company expects to start implementing the change in the US early next year.

However, critics note that Netflix’s crackdown risks squandering years of goodwill the company has built over the years and might anger consumers who have a crowd of other streaming services to choose from.

This new move is part of Netflix’s answer to slowing growth, especially in the US market.

As a leader in the streaming video business, with 223 million global subscribers, Netflix is the first in the game to confront password sharing, but will likely not be the last, investors and media executives say.

It is noted that other streaming rivals face losses as well, and overtime, pressure to make more money and keep growing could keep services like Disney, HBO Max and Paramount to take a hard look at password sharing.