Netflix is to test the “add a home” feature to charge users who share their accounts with others in select countries. The service provider estimated that around 100 million households use shared passwords. To strike a balance and generate revenue, the platform has been exploring ways to levy additional charges when a user shares the account.
In March 2022, the video streaming service provider introduced the “add extra member” feature in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. A similar ‘add a home’ feature will be tested in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras next month. The test will prompt users to pay an additional fee to use an account outside their household.
Users will have to pay $2.99 a month to let someone access their Netflix account in an additional home. Members on a basic Netflix plan can add one extra home, standard users can add up to two homes and premium users can add up to three homes, the company said in a statement. Users will be able to control access and remove homes from the account settings page.
Earlier this year, the video streaming platform hinted at alow-cost-ad-supported subscription plan after reporting a drop in consumers. The company recently partnered with Microsoft for its new consumer subscription plan.