Netflix blocks account sharing in four countries. Inevitably, the regulation will soon be extended to Romania

Netflix is sending some pretty confusing messages lately. On the one hand, the company’s management promises investors that it will do something about the account sharing phenomenon. On the other, it says in official communications to customers that these changes will not be applied internationally, but only in certain regions. Incidentally, just a few days ago, the company said it had “accidentally” published new regulations suggesting that the sharing freeze was near. Now, with another few days to go, these rules are becoming “official”, having been extended to four new countries. Although they don’t yet apply in Romania, here’s what’s in store for us in the near future.

Netflix to charge “extra” users separately

On Netflix’s official website, the company has published an article explaining changes in the user rules regarding multiple users using one account. The countries concerned are Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain, joining the Latin American countries that had already had this regulation in place for some time.

Users using a single Netflix account will have to live in a single household. The account will be associated with a primary home, and only there will the account be available for playback. You’ll be able to use the account on the same number of devices at once as before – one for Basic, two for HD and four for premium – but all accounts will be able to host a maximum of five user profiles.

Also read: How to access, from Romania, Tubi, a free “Netflix” with tens of thousands of good movies and series

Those who find themselves locked out because they don’t live in the same house as the account owner will be able to export their personal profile, with their history and preferences, to a new account that can be signed up with their own email address.

For mobile devices and travelers, there is the ability to log in on new screens. But on mobile you have to access the original Wi-Fi network at least once a month, and for TVs in hotels, for example, authentication expires after 7 days.

There’s also an option to add a person who doesn’t live in the original household for a fee to the account. However, the fees are quite high: €4 in Portugal and €6 in Spain per month to give someone else access to the account on devices outside the household. You can add more such users, but the fee is per profile.

Company says those who don’t pay hurt its ability to invest in new movies

Netflix justifies the changes on the grounds that 100 million households use account sharing around the world, and this has an impact on its revenues. Thus, the company says its ability to invest in new series and movies is currently limited. The truth is, however, that Netflix has recently recovered from its first-ever decline and is back on an upward trend in subscribers.