Netflix’s Plan To Charge You For Sharing Your Password Is A Disaster Before It’s Even Begun
Here’s how it works: A $2.99 fine (per password share), a likely fine for logging in at a friend’s house, and people now call customer service to get permission to watch on different devices.
Yes. Netflix is now charging people for sharing passwords outside their household in:
- Chile
- Peru
- Costa Rica
And it’s a big mess.
Netflix has been the hero of the entertainment world, but it is now turning itself into a double-dipping villain out for a coldhearted cash grab.
Sh*t hit the fan when Netflix released its quarterly results. It turns out that a lot of people have canceled their Netflix subscriptions. I see four reasons for that:
- Netflix subscription price hikes.
- The competition’s buffet looks nicer.
- No new shows that can beat Tiger King.
- Pandemic over-binging spoiled the appetite.
As the subscribers left, someone forgot to close the door, and many investors slipped out behind them — and boy, it’s like the last 5 years of growth never happened.
The stock market is back at its pre-2018 levels.
Instead of actually improving their shows — Netflix played the nasty blame game. The victim: The harmless password-sharer.
But instead of testing in wealthy markets where people can afford to pay a little extra, Netflix disgustingly chose three third-world countries to act as lab rats for their exploitation.
The new policy in these countries works like this:
- You share your password with someone in another household.
- Your account is charged $2.99 extra.
To a Netflix executive, it makes sense.
To a Netflix customer, it’s horrendous.
Here are the biggest problems people in beta countries are having right now:
The friend’s house dilemma
Say you go to a friend’s house to have a Netflix and chill session. You bring popcorn, pajamas, pantoffels, and of course, your Netflix password.
But after taking 7 minutes to type in your long-ass password with that f*cking useless TV keyboard, you’re greeted by a screen that asks you to pay $2.99 extra for logging in at a different location.
You say yes, and Netflix double-dips into your bank account.
You say no, and there is no Netflix & chill tonight.
The only problem is you only have $2.97 left in your broke-ass student life bank account, so you go for a Disney+ and giggle instead.
Meanwhile, rich-ass Roney lives in a tall-ass apartment building where all of his piggybacking friends stay above him and use the same internet provider. They host dinner parties on his Netflix account, but he isn’t charged a cent extra.
Besides, what is a Netflix account if you cannot even use it to Netflix and chill at a friend’s house?
The traveler’s pickle
So, you’re finally cutting the cord and switching to Netflix to watch content on trips away from home or even in the secret little tab at work.
I’ve got bad news for you.
With its new policy Netflix is constantly checking your IP address, and if it seems like you’re sharing a password because your IP isn’t matching up — you better pay up, buddy.
Now imagine how it must be for your hippy aunt that hops from Airbnb to Airbnb. $2.99 extra for every Airbnb?
The customer service hypocrisy
A friend of mine living in Lima, Peru recently called Netflix customer service to explain to them that her younger brother is a member of their household, but is using their Netflix account from a different location.
He tried to log in and was met by the nasty new error message stopping him from indulging himself in the new season of Stranger Things.
The customer service agent said that in this particular case her brother could keep using the Netflix account but would have to enter a special verification code to make sure they bypassed the whole extra payment thing.
Like what the f*ck.
If you can just call to cut the crap, why even start the crappy policy in the first place?
Adding a new device to your Netflix subscription isn't supposed to be this hard.
People pay for 1 or 2 or 4 screens simultaneously. It shouldn’t matter where they are used.
If you get a Netflix subscription, you pick how many screens you can watch on at the same time. The options are:
- Basic = 1 simultaneous screen
- Standard = 2 simultaneous screens
- Premium = 4 simultaneous screens
It should not matter from where the screens are used as long as it doesn’t cross the screen limit.
Why complicate things?
Most of us are forced to pay $19.99 to have a 4K subscription even though we only use it on 1 screen at the same time.
If I’m paying for 4 screens at the same time, so f*cking what if I share the password with my grandma living elsewhere.
Dear Netflix,
Here’s how it works:
- You cut your crappy policies.
- Focus on making better shows.
Or we cut our subscriptions.