A warning to Netflix account sharers. The company is committed to its previously announced crackdown on password sharing. And it has confirmed that the rollout of this plan, aimed at turning "borrowers" into paying account holders, will begin over the next few weeks.

In its latest earnings report (opens in new tab), Netflix confirmed that the password-sharing crackdown will begin "more broadly" toward the end of Q1 2023. This suggests that by April, we can expect more accounts to feel the squeeze as Netflix tries to ensure that everyone who uses its platform is paying for the privilege.

Netflix's current terms of service technically already limit accounts to one household, but streamers have not widely enforced this restriction until now. On the topic of policing password sharing, Netflix wrote: " We recognize that this is a change for members who share accounts more widely." It also confirms that "members in many countries have the option to pay extra if they want to share Netflix with someone they don't live with."

Netflix refers to these users who regularly use Netflix content on accounts that do not directly pay for it as "borrowers" and estimates that over 100 million households fall into this category. The goal of this crackdown is to either convert these viewers into regular paying subscribers with their own accounts or to charge the main account holder a fee for sharing their password with friends and family.

Naturally, this would not be a change that would be acceptable to many, and in the accompanying earnings call, Netflix's new co-CEO Greg Peters said, "It will not be a move that is acceptable to everyone," and users canceling their accounts in protest He acknowledged that there are some. Nevertheless, Netflix expects the change to have an overall net positive effect on subscriber numbers. It also expects that many users who canceled due to dissatisfaction will return when new flagship programs are introduced to the platform.

Last year, Netflix began testing a password-sharing crackdown plan by requiring users in some South American regions to pay extra for "sub-accounts." And these tests appear to have satisfied streamers enough to roll out further updates. Netflix said it initially lost subscribers in these regions, but overall engagement increased over time as former renters signed up for their accounts after a cooling-off period.

In other words, like it or not, the days of easily sharing one Netflix account with an entire family or circle of friends seem to be pretty much over.

The world's largest streaming service weathered the storm in 2022, facing criticism for canceling too many TV shows and a lackluster launch of an ad-supported tier. Nevertheless, in its earnings report, Netflix confirmed that its overall subscriber base grew by 7.7 million in the last quarter. Clearly, despite the social media noise suggesting otherwise, Netflix maintains a very strong position in the streaming world.