Netflix introduces paid ‘add a home’ feature in five countries to combat account sharing

While subscriber losses and the planned introduction of an ad-supported tier dominated Netflix’s Q1 2022 earnings, the company also said that it would take steps to crack down on account sharing and this has now started to be implemented by the streamer.

Starting in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, users will now be prompted to ‘add a home’ for an additional fee of US$2.99. Netflix basic plan subscribers can add one extra home, standard subscribers can add two while premium subscribers can add up to three extra.

Netflix users in these five countries will also be able to track where their account is being used and restrict access via a ‘manage homes’ feature.

In a blog post, Netflix outlined: “Beginning August 22, 2022, when you sign in to Netflix on a TV outside of your home, you will see the option to add the extra home for an additional fee per month.”

“If you will only be using this TV for a limited time, you can watch Netflix for up to 2 weeks at no extra charge as long as your account has not been previously used in that location. After that time, the TV will be blocked unless you add the extra home.”

Using Netflix on a TV outside your home while “travelling” will be eligible without an extra charge for up to two weeks “as long as your account has not been previously used in that location. This is allowed once per location per year.”

Chengyi Long, Netflix’s director of product innovation, said: “Over the last 15 years, we’ve worked hard to build a streaming service that’s easy to use, including for people who travel or live together. It’s great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much they want to share them more broadly. But today’s widespread account sharing between households undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve our service.”

Netflix will release its Q2 2022 earnings later today, with the streamer previously estimating losses of 2 million subscribers in the quarter.