Netflix Planning to Charge Users an Extra Fee for Password Sharing, Will Block Usage in Other Homes If You Don’t Pay Up

Netflix is trying to find a way to block its users from sharing passwords by offering users the ability to buy added households.

According to reports, Netflix users haven’t just been sharing passwords with family members who live a few miles away. Some users are sharing their account information with loved ones in foreign countries, including the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Argentina and more.

To combat that, Netflix is offering up the option to purchase homes. Suppose Netflix sees that a user has been on their Netflix account in a different location repeatedly for more than a week. In that case, the user will be prompted to “buy” an additional household. The cost would be an additional $1.17 per month. In other regions, there may be an added price of $2.99.

Now, if you choose to ignore the options or not choose one, Netflix will block that newer location from being able to watch. The streaming platform will reportedly be able to figure out a user’s primary household through their devices and IP addresses.

There’s no word on when the new account share policy will begin for U.S. users, but the new program will impact Netflix users in Honduras on August 22.