Netflix’s recent decision to crack down on account sharing by adding an extra fee of 4,99 € for each shared account is a topic that has generated mixed reactions among users, mostly negative.
A random Netflix logo that will be strike down for copyright issues soon
Back to piracy? 🏴☠️
Netflix wants to protect its revenues and ensure that each user has their own subscription but, what is happening is that people are currently unsubscribing from the service and subscribing to Prime Video, Hulu, Disney and other streaming services or getting back to good ol’ piracy. YARR.
This is not (financial) advice but Plex + Torrent a good storage and some automation for feed subscriptions is a truly great combo. 👀
A bit of history 📜
Account sharing has been a widely adopted practice among Netflix users for many years, and it has undoubtedly contributed to the platform’s widespread popularity.
Many people have appreciated the flexibility of sharing an account with family or friends, allowing them to split the cost and enjoy a vast (but somewhat bland) library of content.
This sharing culture has helped Netflix gain a significant market share and establish itself as a leading streaming service but also allowed the birth of share-tech businesses such as TogetherPrice.
Netflix is both prioritizing short-term financial gains over long-term customer satisfaction but there is another reason for that.
The hot take 🔥
Netflix is preparing for a massive layoff.
Whaaaat?!
Yep. They need to justify a massive layoff coming, therefore they are in need of a plausible cause and what better culprit than a subscriptions drop?
Give it 3/4 months from now and then let’s see if I was right. Hopefully not.
More complaints 🤬
Many users who have been sharing accounts for years may feel betrayed or disappointed by the sudden change in policy even for the continued rise in prices from 12,99 € –15,99 € and 17,99 € for the UHD plan.
It will lead to a decline in customer loyalty and push more and more users towards exploring alternatives to Netflix.
Some people may exploit the sharing “hidden” feature by sharing accounts with large groups of people, larger than the number of screens offered, who also don’t contribute financially but many more users genuinely share their account with a limited number of trusted individuals such as friends, family and their partner.
These users will argue that they are still paying for the service and should be allowed to share it as they see fit.
Why allowing up to 5 screens if I can’t share them?
Stricter policies on account sharing will alienate these loyal users and create a very nefarious image of Netflix, that is slowly transforming into an EvilCorp.
Rather than solely focusing on preventing account sharing, I feel that Netflix should explore alternative strategies for dealing with this issues such as offering more affordable plans for multiple users or implementing stricter authentication measures to ensure account owners are not abusing the system — e.g. Spotify (shoutout to my homies) enables the family feature by sharing the home address of the main account— .
Conclusion
In short: Netflix is k*lling itself and I will definitely unsubscribe and turn to a more convenient (if not free) streaming service. 😎
Follow me here, hit that green button! 🟩
Feel free to comment, share and tag me to discuss.
You can follow my other social media 👉 here.
See you next time!
Originally published on blog.mb-consulting.dev.