Netflix Testing Password Sharing Plan That Costs $3 Extra in Latin America

[PinkyMacGodess]

College kids are quite creative in obtaining their entertainment with minimal cost, so I wouldn’t worry about it

I was a maintenance person in an apartment complex I lived in during college. (Why? So much had to be repaired/replaced in MY apartment, the only way to get it done was to be the person in charge of what got replaced)

People knew who had the premium packages for cable, and I'd see christmas trees of tees off of one line of people that were 'borrowing' that connection. I'm sure it drove the cable companies nuts. The previous guy took to cutting the wires and management frowned on that for some reason. But they were using all kinds of 'creative wiring' to 'borrow' cable plans. They even tried to lock the connection boxes, but people either forced the boxes open, or split the signal outside of the box. Chimps that really want something will build all kinds of contraptions to get it. I rest my case?

 

[svish]

If the password sharing plan becomes available everywhere else, Netflix will surely charge quite a bit for it. Maybe even 50% extra. Not happy with Netflix prices. Waiting to see how they price their ad supported plan.

 

[ian87w]

I was a maintenance person in an apartment complex I lived in during college. (Why? So much had to be repaired/replaced in MY apartment, the only way to get it done was to be the person in charge of what got replaced)

People knew who had the premium packages for cable, and I'd see christmas trees of tees off of one line of people that were 'borrowing' that connection. I'm sure it drove the cable companies nuts. The previous guy took to cutting the wires and management frowned on that for some reason. But they were using all kinds of 'creative wiring' to 'borrow' cable plans. They even tried to lock the connection boxes, but people either forced the boxes open, or split the signal outside of the box. Chimps that really want something will build all kinds of contraptions to get it. I rest my case?

Haha, that's awesome.
During my college days, some people were setting up small "server" and share everyone's contributions of MP3s, connected to the uni's internal LAN. The good old days. Nowadays, plenty of public Telegram chat groups containing direct downloads to TV series and such.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Your device still has a MAC address which has nothing to do with Apple Macs.

Isn't that MAC address privatized by iOS and macOS when users turn on privacy options? So even the users MAC address isn't the same each time, despite it being the same device in the same location.

 

[nburwell]

If I’m paying $20 a month for 4 simultaneous streams, why can’t one of those streams be for my mom? If they are going to play these games, I want a plan with Ultra HD and 1 single stream. I’m not going to pay for 4 streams that I can never use just to have 4k. If they do this, I’m canceling my Netflix subscription.

Well said. I'm on the same plan, but it's primarily just my wife and I using Netflix. We have a profile for our son, but as a two year old, he's not watching a ton of TV.

Give me a UHD plan with two simultaneous streams as we don't need the 4 streams.

 

[compwiz1202]

There is no such thing as password sharing.

If I pay for 4 streams at the same time, and I use 4 streams at the same time, on 4 different devices, I am 100% within my rights as a user per what I've paid for per what Netflix has sold me.

They cannot decide what constitutes "sharing" an account with (who?) someone vs. using it "myself" 4 simultaneous times. Physically not possible for them to distinguish between "legitimate" usage and what they call password sharing (which doesn't exist).

They have completely lost the plot.

Exactly. It is inherently limited by concurrent screen limit.

 

[compwiz1202]

Perhaps its the content for the reason of lost subscribers.

One of them

 

[iStorm]

Isn't that MAC address privatized by iOS and macOS when users turn on privacy options? So even the users MAC address isn't the same each time, despite it being the same device in the same location.

Only iOS/iPadOS and watchOS have the private Wi-Fi feature. MacOS doesn't have it. Also, MAC addresses can only be traced on the local/immediate network it's connected to; it gets lost after the first IP hop. So if your Mac is connected to a router, your ISP can't even see the MAC address of your devices; they can only see the MAC address of your router...and since it gets lost after IP hops, Netflix is unable to see the MAC address of your router.

 

[compwiz1202]

Netflix uses 99% of its budgets to fill their catalogue with placeholder shows and movies that all have the worst reviews of all time. When there are some good shows, they cancel them as the audience may be a bit low and replace it with 10 tv shows nobody will ever watch. They don't spare anything, they loose customers.

This is dumb and people have enough of it as there is competition.

This is why I have TV in general. Finally find something I like, and they cancel in less than a season, but the same garbage is on for years for multiple shows.

 

[compwiz1202]

I think some of this is “shareholder theatre” for the markets which expect not just endless growth but endlessly increasing rates of growth.

Truth is, streaming services had a couple of boom years during pandemic “lockdowns”, which is now subsiding, they’re facing more and more competition from the big studios’ new streaming channels - both for subscribers and when buying/retaining show, they've had a lot of new content delayed because covid, and, on top of that, people are tightening their belts because of rising prices. All the streamers‘ profits are going to be taking a haircut, and as one of the more expensive services (especially if you want 4K) Netflix are extra vulnerable.

….but, for the moment, let’s pretend it’s all because of password sharing and everything is going to be right if we fix that. Netflix are following their own advice: “Don’t Look Up!”

Personally, as soon as I finished “Stranger Things“ I cancelled Netflix to give Disney+ a go for a while. I’ll probably go back in 6 months or so when I’m fed up with Marvel and Star Wars - but the Star/Hulu section in D+ is pretty extensive, too, and has less crud than Netflix or Amazon.

Of course, the great thing with streaming is that you don’t “miss” stuff if you unsubscribe for a few months. Netflix must hate that - what’s the betting we‘ll see minimum-18 month subscriptions before long?

I'd love to see how hard subs tank if they would try that min sub garbage

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Haha, that's awesome.
During my college days, some people were setting up small "server" and share everyone's contributions of MP3s, connected to the uni's internal LAN. The good old days. Nowadays, plenty of public Telegram chat groups containing direct downloads to TV series and such.

AWESOME!!! One of the original first uses of the 'internet' was for monitoring the temperature of the cans in a vending machine, so this is awesome. Sadly, the apartment I lived in at the time also inhabited a time before wifi and the major form of networking was 'thinnet' (10base-2) which was rather primitive. It was kind of like Token Ring, in the 'tube' has to be unbroken, or all that data will just run out onto the floor. It would have been interesting to have wifi, and can only imagine what a hot mess it is now. I remember when the uni wired the dorms. It was a disaster in the beginning. I'm sure people were running their own BBS's and such then, and servers likely now. Just trying to lock that down would be a major headache. (I found a 'tech company' on my same subnet on residential cable. Oddly they were surprised I found it. *shrug*)

But surfing the wires at night would likely be interesting. I used to do that at hotels I was staying at. Once I found a medical person's notebook wide open with REAL patient data. I called the front desk with the name of the user and suggested they call them and warn them of a major HIPAA violation that could cost them their practice. Yikes...

But the music people could 'collect', the images, videos, cameras, etc... Yikes... I try so hard to make sure everything is locked down tight if I ever connect any of my tech to any outside network. Heck, even rental cars will try to siphon your contact list and anything else they can. It's the Wild Wild West out there, which is funny on its own...

 

[wonderings]

I guess a case could be made that they likely wouldn't be subscribers anyway and are 'using' the Netflix services and a drain on their resources and not be subscribers, but the original subscriber was given 'x' number of logins (apparently? I'm not familiar with their policies and what a subscriber gets) and that makes it possible to share those.

I ride an app for my trainer that will instantly logout any current logged in user if another login tries to use the service. You *can* share the login credentials as many times as you want, but the more times you do, the less time you may have to ride. If Netflix wants to eliminate this, they need to make it either one login, and one user period, or tie the separate logins to the serial number of the box it was first used. To me, the first would be the best solution, but would require separate accounts for each device. Or require devices to have a GPS receiver and refuse to operate if it is moved. (AT&T, in their ridiculous 'Micro-cell' boxes, had a GPS receiver likely for the same reason. Is the person 'subsidizing' someone else. Hmm) If Netflix went to a preemptive login system, with 'accessory accounts' for additional devices, they would find out who their devoted customers are, for sure...

Personally I find the Netflix idea as dated as Blockbuster. How many people shared rented videos? How many people ripped rented videos? At some point you have to realize that punishing your customers for flaws in your delivery system is counter productive?

Because they would not be subscribers anyways is not a justification for stealing. That being said I technically steal from Netflix as I share my account with a cousin. Digital always seems to be a murky place for this as it is not a tangible physical thing so stealing gives less of a guilty feeling.

Like your ride app Netflix already does the same thing. On occasion my cousins kids will log on on an iPad to watch Netflix while they are watching and then when I watch I am told I can't because my limit of 2 streams at the same time are used. They could limit to 1 user at a time, of course that kills off the family plans they offer. Not sure there is any real way stop this that would not make Netflix a super headache to use. If they need to login in and needed an authentication code it is a simple text to me and they have what they need.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

So maybe it’s an unpopular opinion, but charging only three extra dollars on top of the monthly rate sounds like an OK solution.

It would be fine if they would stop increasing their prices every year or so.
But when they just had another price increase a couple months ago, it’s a lot harder to justify.
for the standard plan:
2018: $10.99
January 2019: $12.99
October 2020: $13.99
January 2022: $15.49
That means if you spent all this time password sharing (and everyone knows most people have at one point or another), not only has you’re yearly cost gone up by $54 simply within the last four years, but if this takes affect in the US your cost will go up even more dramatically.
We’re talking about going from $131.88 a year in 2018 to a possible $221.87 a year.
And that’s still just for 1080P content, two streams at the same time, and a much worst catalog than 2018.
maybe if this three dollar fee started when the price was still 12.99, it wouldn’t be as hard to get irritated by.

 

[NLLV]

And how exactly will they determine who is sharing a password with another household versus those who travel extensively for work and use Netflix on a mobile device while away from home?

I'm no password sharing thief but I travel a lot and tend to stay in the same areas when traveling, just try to charge me for that and I will cancel promptly!

Also wonder how they plan to deal with VPN customers as our IPs can be all over the place.

Simple. If you travel a lot, your IP addresses will change. If you are on one Wifi in Brazil, then another one because the ISP is different, and therefore the LOCATION of the ISP is different, that is a tell that you are traveling.

Otherwise, one person on the same ISP which is in the same physical location in Brazil, and you on the same ISP in the same location in the USA are going to tell them what is happening.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Losing The Office wasn’t them, just like Star Trek it went to the networks own streaming service.

Yes, I know.
That wasn’t my point.
The Office was netflix Most watched show.
It was huge.
I know people who only subscribe to Netflix purely for the office.

‘The Office’ Was by Far the Most-Streamed TV Show in 2020, Nielsen Says

U.S. viewers streaming more than 57 billion minutes of "The Office" on Netflix in 2020, according to Nielsen estimates.

variety.com

It was first rumored that the office would be leaving Netflix in mid 2019.
And then, after that, the prices have steadily gone up, subscribers are losing and now this.
I truly believe the events are coincidentally related.

 

[jwdsail]

I'll be very curious how this affects frequent travelers moving forward?

I travel to the same three or four hotels multiple times a year, for about three nights a month...

I always have my AppleTV HD with me, and access Netflix if there isn't a race I want to watch on another streaming service like Speed51, FloRacing, or YouTubeTV...

As I read how Netflix is taking this approach to beginning to fight account sharing, I wonder how my usage would be viewed through their lens? Common sense should show their systems that I'm accessing from a business internet account at a commercial address/hotel, rather than a permanent home/apartment/condo as a 2nd separate user sharing the account... But.. will common sense prevail?

The first time I have an issue while on the road, or my family has an issue at home when I'm on the road, the subscription gets canceled. We've already discussed beginning to treat Netflix like we treat HBO, Disney+, Paramount+ and Starz... This could be the push we need to take a long break after years of continuous subscription.

 

[jwdsail]

Simple. If you travel a lot, your IP addresses will change. If you are on one Wifi in Brazil, then another one because the ISP is different, and therefore the LOCATION of the ISP is different, that is a tell that you are traveling.

Otherwise, one person on the same ISP which is in the same physical location in Brazil, and you on the same ISP in the same location in the USA are going to tell them what is happening.

Which may make it interesting for frequent travelers who stay at the same hotel multiple times throughout the year, every year? I regularly stay at the same hotels.. I've found hotels where I like the location and the staff enough to keep using the same locations.. and when on a long project may stay at the same hotel multiple times in the same month for two or three months...

As I've said elsewhere, this *should* show up as my access coming from a commercial property/hotel, not a residence, which should by itself reflect the use as the account holder traveling.

The key word there is *should*.

I'm not doom and gloom, but I'm beyond giving any of these companies the benefit of the doubt any more.

 

[Osxguy]

Netflix…. Seeing the end of an era… video killed the radio star, Netflix was supposed to kill the cable company. What went wrong??????

 

[TimFL1]

People in Latin America will be better off canceling their Netflix membership. There are other affordable options available.

In an ideal world this would mean literal exodus of Netflix subs in the regions they trial this.

 

[compwiz1202]

Netflix…. Seeing the end of an era… video killed the radio star, Netflix was supposed to kill the cable company. What went wrong??????

Too many services with everyone raising prices. Back to being cheaper to just have cable. Even the streaming cable services that used to be reasonable have prices spiraling out of control.

 

[Spock]

Yes, I know.
That wasn’t my point.
The Office was netflix Most watched show.
It was huge.
I know people who only subscribe to Netflix purely for the office.

‘The Office’ Was by Far the Most-Streamed TV Show in 2020, Nielsen Says

U.S. viewers streaming more than 57 billion minutes of "The Office" on Netflix in 2020, according to Nielsen estimates.

variety.com

It was first rumored that the office would be leaving Netflix in mid 2019.
And then, after that, the prices have steadily gone up, subscribers are losing and now this.
I truly believe the events are coincidentally related.

It ironic because all the months that people paid for Netflix just for The Office could have purchased it on digital.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Because they would not be subscribers anyways is not a justification for stealing. That being said I technically steal from Netflix as I share my account with a cousin. Digital always seems to be a murky place for this as it is not a tangible physical thing so stealing gives less of a guilty feeling.

Like your ride app Netflix already does the same thing. On occasion my cousins kids will log on on an iPad to watch Netflix while they are watching and then when I watch I am told I can't because my limit of 2 streams at the same time are used. They could limit to 1 user at a time, of course that kills off the family plans they offer. Not sure there is any real way stop this that would not make Netflix a super headache to use. If they need to login in and needed an authentication code it is a simple text to me and they have what they need.

Disney+ started the code thing. Drives the wife nuts. Might be a short trip, but anyway...

Funny to think that would stop people from sharing the content, but since I don't have any family to try it on I don't know...

 

[Macative]

Of course they can put restrictions on your use of content which isn't yours. And they do. And you agreed to it.

Nope. Can't place restrictions on usage they've already sold you. They sell you 4 simultaneous streams. They govern that on the backend. They CANNOT legally introduce arbitrary restrictions on that. If they do, they will be sued into oblivion.

 

[Macative]

There is. Netflix specifically defines what a household is to them. If you break their ToS, then they can ask you to pay more or restrict you.

You don't get it. Unless you're only allowed to watch Netflix from your home IP address (effectively killing netflix), there is no way for them to determine whether or not your usage is "legitimate" or not. Simply not possible.

 

[wonderings]

Disney+ started the code thing. Drives the wife nuts. Might be a short trip, but anyway...

Funny to think that would stop people from sharing the content, but since I don't have any family to try it on I don't know...

Have not had it with Netflix, I know it was there with Disney +, I stopped that service a while ago. Netflix is next up on the chopping block, and this was before them possibly getting harder on account sharing.