Sharing that Netflix account to save you and a friend money may not be the go anymore, as Netflix adds a cost if you’re doing just that.
The cost of living is rising, and everyone is doing what they can to keep those costs low. That might include sharing video services with friends and family, because these can understandably add up and make a dent on your budget.
But that approach may be going the way of the dodo, as Netflix adds a bit of a penalty fee for folks who want to do just that.
It’s been tested in Canada and New Zealand for a few months, and now the feature (if you can call it that) is rolling out to Australia and the US, as well as other nations, too.
In short, Australians (and people from other places) with a Netflix account can share their Standard or Premium account with someone else for $7.99 per month, basically expanding on the $16.99 price for the former (Standard) or $22.99 monthly for the latter (Premium) with $8 for who you decide to share it with.
That extra member has to be in the same place as the Netflix account, and may rely on the WiFi network of the main account holder, but could work from IP addresses, as well. Overall, it seems as if Netflix will be relying on registered information from the main account holder and compare that with who logs in, and that could be a problem if a shared account isn’t living with you.
As to what happens if someone is caught using an account without paying for the Extra Member access, Netflix’s help page hasn’t quite detailed that, but at a guess, that person will likely be locked out.
However, it could also affect the account owner, so if you are sharing, it might be time to either tell your friends or family to use their own, or to help with an extra eight bucks per month.
