Netflix might charge you a fee for sharing your password in the near future

Yes, Netflix knows that you share your password with your significant other, and they’ve decided to do something about it.

The streaming service is launching a test that charges primary members a fee for sharing their account with people outside of their household in an effort to crack down on password sharing.

Chengyi Long, director of product innovation at Netflix, made the announcement in a blog post on Wednesday. She says that they’ve made it simple for people living together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams.

“While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared,” wrote Long. “As a result, accounts are being shared between households — impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

When Bridgerton premieres next week, the world will be blessed with one more good boy who shares his name with a brilliant man.

Newton, please meet Ein from Cowboy Bebop and Hawking from The Adam Project. Now shake. pic.twitter.com/UtzQszFzlo

— Netflix (@netflix) March 16, 2022

To address this, the site is testing an “add an extra member” feature over the next few weeks in three countries: Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.

Members of standard and premium Netflix plans can add sub-accounts for up to two people they don’t live with for a small fee. Each person will get their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password.

Here’s how much the extra fee is in the test countries converted to CAD:

Peru: PEN7.9 — CAD$2.68
Chile: CLP2,380 — CAD$3.76
Costa Rica: US$2.99 — CAD$3.78

The streaming service also provides a second option called “transfer profile to a new account.” If you’re tired of a certain someone mooching off of your subscription, this is the perfect feature for you. It will allow primary members to transfer user profiles either to a new account or an “extra member” sub-account that they then have to pay for. It’ll let users keep their viewing history and personalized recommendations.

“We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world,” said Long.

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Netflix is already feeling the heat from disgruntled users online.

“That’s bullsh*t because Netflix has grown and continues to grow even with people sharing passwords,” one person tweeted. “They are just looking for a reason to charge more.”

That’s bullshit because Netflix has grown and continues to grow even with people sharing passwords. They are just looking for a reason to charge more.

— XNobleX (@XNobleX) March 17, 2022

@netflix I saw that pilot program you’re launching. How do you expect families to handle password sharing in the case of divorcees, their children, or college students away from home? We already pay a lot for it, now you’re just milking us for every dollar spent.

— Sam Gray (@swimmergirl427) March 17, 2022

This news comes just as Netflix’s subscription prices rise this month.

For now, there are no plans to extend the features to Canada, so we’ll see if they pan out.