Netflix cracks down on password sharing in India, announces only members of a household can access one account

Streaming giant Netflix today announced that it has ended password sharing in India, restricting the use of one account by only members of a household.

Netflix cracks down on password sharing. Photo courtesy: Unsplash

“We will be sending this email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India,” Netflix said in a statement. 

“We recognise that our members have many entertainment choices. It is why we continue to invest heavily in a wide variety of new films and TV shows — so whatever your taste, mood or language and whoever you are watching with, there is always something satisfying to watch on Netflix,” it said.

According to media reports, the decision is part of a crackdown by Netflix worldwide.

According to a post on the Netflix FAQ page in February this year, a single Netflix account will  only be accessible by people living in a single household, and people who do not live in the same address as the primary account holder “will need to use their own account to watch Netflix.”

"Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are – at home, on the go, on holiday – and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices," the streaming giant reiterated  in the latest statement.

The company said it has started emailing the decision to customers who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India. 

Also read: Netflix US gains 280,000 new subscribers after ending password sharing; Is India next?

Netflix, earlier in May, imposed curbed password-sharing in more than 100 countries, including the United States and the UK.

Though Netflix added nearly 6 million subscribers since the crackdown, according to a Reuters report, the additions outpaced the 1.9 million that Wall Street expected. Netflix had a total of 238.4 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of June, it said.

It earned a profit of USD 1.5 billion in the recently ended quarter, according to a release.