Netflix has confirmed that it will start experimenting in a few nations with a new “add a home” function that will tax subscribers who share their subscription with others. The test represents the streaming giant’s most recent effort to combat password sharing.
If a user uses an account outside of their home during the test, they will be prompted to pay an extra cost. Next month, Netflix will start testing the function in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.
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Netflix to add a ‘home’ feature
Each Netflix account will feature a home in these test areas where you may access Netflix on any of your devices. Netflix will charge you a fee if you permit someone to use your account at a different residence. In Argentina, you must spend an additional 219 pesos, and in the other test regions, $2.99, to add a home to your account.
Members on a Basic Netflix plan can add one extra home, Standard users can add up to two extra homes and Premium users can add up to three extra homes. Users in these test areas will have the option to control where their account is being used and remove homes from their account settings page.
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“It’s great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much they want to share them more broadly,” said Netflix’s director of product innovation, Chengyi Long, in a statement. “But today’s widespread account sharing between households undermines our long term ability to invest in and improve our service.”
Netflix says this test expands on a similar feature it launched in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru earlier this year called “add extra member.” As part of this test, subscribers are asked to pay extra if they are sharing the service with people outside their own household. The feature allows households to add up to two “subaccounts” for a fee that’s less than the cost of the full-priced Netflix service.