What you need to know
- 33% of people say they share Netflix credentials with someone else.
- Netflix is aware that people share their passwords with people outside of their household.
- Changes are being tested to allow people to pay to add people to their existing account for a fee.
As many as a full third of people say that they share Netflix passwords, according to a new report. The news comes as the streamer tests ways for people to add new people to their accounts for a small fee rather than have them share their accounts for free.
It's long been an open secret that people share their Netflix account login credentials with friends and family members, something that the streaming company says they shouldn't be doing. Now, a survey run by Leichtman Research Group and reported on by Deadline, puts the number of shares at 33%.
The research firm's online survey of 4,400 consumers confirms the company's own conclusions in recent years. While 64% of respondents said they pay for and use Netflix only in their own household, 33% indicate some form of sharing. (The remaining 3% are households whose Netflix comes packaged via other subscriptions.)
Netflix recently began running tests that were designed to deal with account sharers by allowing them to pay a little extra to add someone else to their account. That test is only running in three territories and none of them are in the United States, however.
It stands to reason that Netflix would be working to try and make sure that it is being paid for the content that is being watched and few would argue that sharing accounts and passwords is the right thing to do. But as Netflix continues to hike prices with alarming regularity, sharing passwords doesn't seem like something that will end any time soon.
