You may have forgotten about Netflix's crackdown on password sharing; Netflix's attempt to make you pay more to share your account in different places made headlines this past January and February.

Yes, Netflix has decided that the days of "love is sharing passwords" are over. That tweet (open in new tab) is still up, though. The era of "paid sharing" (more on that later) has replaced it. This change reached Canada in February of this year.

That said, I would have expected a crackdown in the U.S. by now; in Netflix's quarterly letter to shareholders dated January 19, 2023, the company said it "expects to begin rolling out pay-sharing more broadly in the second half of Q1."

The first quarter ended on April 1. Thirteen days later, the Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) reports that Wall Street is eagerly awaiting Tuesday's (April 18) earnings report to learn about Netflix's pay-sharing efforts.

I had not forgotten about this password sharing crackdown. Having cancelled my own Netflix subscription, I had to consider re-subscribing when I wanted to watch BEEF, the first interesting Netflix show in a while. I didn't re-subscribe (wink, wink) because I realized I didn't need to yet (nudge, nudge). Here's why I may need to re-subscribe soon:

First, the basics: Netflix's crackdown on account sharing is based on the fact that Netflix wants to stop anything it considers mooching. Specifically, Netflix believes that repeated use of the same Netflix account from different homes is theft. And this happened after Netflix's subscriber growth slowed last year.

Netflix has tried to remedy the situation by releasing an update on the topic (opens in new tab) as it expands this crackdown from Latin America to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. It also noted that vacationers would not be affected, stating that "members can watch Netflix on their personally owned devices, such as hotels and holiday rentals, and log in to their new TVs"

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In that post, prices were also made official: $7.99 CAD per month per "additional member" in Canada, $7.99 NZD in New Zealand, €3.99 in Portugal, and €5.99 in Spain. Standard members ($15.49/month) can purchase one additional member, and premium members ($19.99/month) can purchase two additional members.

In the same update, Netflix said it was "ready to roll out (various password-sharing prevention approaches) more broadly in the coming months." Then February came and went. Then March passed, and April brought news that HBO Max would become Max. And here I sit, wondering how imminent the crackdown on password sharing will be in the U.S. in the "coming months."

Why is Netflix waiting? As someone who has tried Netflix Basic with Ads, I can tell you that Netflix is more than you think, and I can say with confidence that they are not afraid to put out new features like public beta tests.

On the first day of Netflix with Ads, the ad insertions were odd, the only choice, 720p, made no sense, and some shows didn't even have ads; even some of Netflix's best shows ("The Good Place," "House of Cards") were not available on this cheap tier. I couldn't.

So I see Netflix's slow, gradual rollout of its crackdown on password sharing as watching a wave that has only just begun and is far from over. Netflix has probably learned its lesson from its initial introduction, and is using it to help us in the US and our friends across the pond in the U.K.

to help our friends in the U.S.

. For every few groups that share Netflix in ways executives don't believe, there are families who are forced to split their streaming across multiple locations.

In other words, there are edge case situations that Netflix would never have thought of and will discover in the process. While this will frustrate subscribers and probably make "cancel Netflix" a trend again (open in new tab), a crackdown on password sharing seems as inevitable as the annual return of the McDonald's Shamrock Shake.

In a statement to shareholders, Netflix said it believes more than 100 million users are in violation of these rules. In other words, Netflix sees a lot of money on the table and doesn't want to give it away.

So what should Netflix users do? Unfortunately, we can't say "just use a VPN," because Netflix ties usage to specific households, not states. Looking at the pricing for "additional members" above, the U.S. rate would probably be about $5 more per person.

Of course, Netflix might use a lower rate when it launches in the US. Either way, either pay the extra fee or do what Netflix is really afraid to do: cancel Netflix. Of course, Netflix is one of the best streaming services out there, but it's best to vote with your dollars.

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