I feel like other streaming platforms will follow the same process as they’ve proven it’s worked.
I cancelled when they first rolled out their test. Cheaper to get a VPN and sail the seas again.
Step 1: Crack down on password sharing.
Step 2: Open subscriptions to foreign countries with cut-rate pricing.
Step 3: Announce subscriber growth.
We’re too smart for you Netflix. Your revenues are actually down because of all the premium-paid subscribers leaving your platform.
Sorry, but that’s just incorrect.
Average daily Sign-ups to Netflix reached 73k during that period, a +102% increase from the prior 60-day average. […] Cancels also increased during this period, but not as much as Sign-ups. The ratio of Sign-ups to Cancels since May 23rd is up +25.6% compared to the previous 60-day period.
That’s US-only data.
https://www.antenna.live/post/a-first-look-at-the-impact-of-netflixs-password-sharing-crackdown
Corporations bank on the fact that the majority of people would rather complain than go back on what’s convenient for them. This was obvious from the start.
If they ever start instituting ads regardless of membership tier, then it’s back to buying discs for me. It’s just going to turn into another cable service eventually.
I cancelled and don’t miss it.
If Netflix’s reporting on the matter is to be believed, then it’s an ironic outcome considering the wave of strongly-opinionated comments predicting the death of Netflix following the crackdown on password sharing. I guess convenience and habits really trump principles and posturing.
I unsubed. But many did not.
I would’ve but I had already cancelled over a year ago because Netflix doesn’t have anything worth watching.
What I’m finding and what’s really annoying, is that every streaming service out there has like 1 or 2 shows and a couple of movies I want to see. Someone will bring up a show, but oh sorry, it’s on Crave. Or nope, that one’s on Disney Plus. That other show? It’s on Prime.
I recently canceled Netflix and moved to Crave, and I am certainly no happier. Thank God I barely care to watch TV as it is.
Yeah, I have been wondering just how bad their content has gotten, or of I somehow got pigeonholed by their filtering algorithms. Somehow almost everything was rated two stars out of five and just plain bad, or in some random language that I don’t speak.
I’m really pissed off when the same movie keeps appearing in every section with different thumbnail. Yes I’ve been fooled by both the category and the different appearance but I don’t recall ever being tricked into watching something, only annoyed and frustrated
I never gave them money to begin with, we are not the same.
Gustavo Fring meme
I told my family I was going to cancel when they cracked down on our households sharing and they haven’t yet. My parents are still enjoying it at their house, and me at mine.
I hated the crackdown but resisting on “principles” is bizarre to me. I left Reddit and Twitter due to principles. Netflix wanting to get paid for their service and content is reasonable. Wanting a business to serve you up free entertainment with no catch?
Also before anyone tries to claim hypocrisy - The difference between that and Twitter/Reddit is myself and the community create the content and are forcefed ads.
Netflix wanting to get paid for their service and content is reasonable.
Sure, it’s reasonable, and why I started subscribing in the first place. But if I pay for four screens, I expect to be able to use all of those four screens, no matter what address they are being viewed from.
Yeah that’s totally fair and Netflix fucked that up
You’re not paying for that though. The terms of service have never allowed giving other people your details and letting people outside your household use your account.
Also you can still use 4 devices no matter where you are - mobile devices and tablets and laptops are not IP restricted.
Netflix started out encouraging password sharing, even promoted it on Twitter back in the days.
Yeh, when they allowed it. They changed their terms of service.
So clearly some people did pay for that and it was changed at a later date…
Companies are allowed to change their terms of service.
Mobile devices are restricted by being forced to connect to your ‘home’ network regularly.
And that’s fine because it’s not stopping you from using your 4 devices.
Your a shill. Find a boot to lick
I don’t pay for Netflix and think their content mostly sucks but thinking “I deserve this service for free” is a childish perspective. Go ahead and pirate it, I couldn’t care less, but don’t act like it gives you the moral high ground lol
Nobody said free. Nothing is free. We all pay a service. If you want ads go ahead. Don’t bring the rest of us down with you.
Indicated of shill and bootlicker syndrome.
Except netlfix sold people a license to view 3 streams then told people they couldn’t decide who used those streams.
I think I am more annoyed by their pricing plans following this move. They are double dipping by charging more for additional screens and then preventing users from using said additional screens. They shouldn’t have tiered pricing plans by number of screens if they have no intention of honouring them.
Yeah that all sucks, which is why I unsubscribed to it. But I also understand I don’t deserve it for free.
It isn’t free, someone is paying for it.
They’re not preventing you from using more screens. If you want to watch Netflix while the kids watch Netflix in another room, that’s what the multiple device plans are for.
Unless I want to watch from my holiday home. Or if my kids want to watch Netflix at my ex’s house. Or if I travel regularly. Or I want to regularly watch Netflix with my friend or girlfriend at their house. There are numerous reports of restrictions on all of these, so they clearly are limiting the number of screens I can use.
You get a one time use PW in all those other instances. I was actually thinking about creating a shared email address with only a Netflix account associated to it so my whole family could still use it without having to pester one another about the one time use code, but at that point piracy is just easier.
I haven’t heard of that. So the one time use password is used to log in and then it works fine without warnings etc?
To my knowledge yeah, it’s a one session pw.
Well I wasn’t one of them. I canceled mine.
The account I share with family still works, but the second it doesn’t… it’s the pirate life for me
Same here. As soon as my mom tells me she can’t log in, I’m cancelling.
I’m not surprised. The number of people sharing accounts who now need their own was always likely to be greater than the number who were going to cancel. They only had to convert a fraction of the non-subdividing viewers for it to work out in their favour. I think they’ll find they have less viewers now, though.
The approach of tacitly allowing account sharing to build viewership then cracking down on it to boost revenue is smart enough as a business strategy. It signals what most of these companies will do when it comes time to really monetise.
I worry for the future of the internet when YouTube and Google really kick off. It’s going to be a subscription hellscape (it is already, but it’s going to be so much worse).
I haven’t followed the Netflix password news all that closely because I barely ever use Netflix - but when I do use it it’s through password sharing an account my sister pays for. That worked as recently as just a week ago.
Should I expect that to stop working soon?
If someone is actively watching something and a second person logs in to the same account and starts watching something, Netflix recognizes it within a minute and displays a message to the second person that logged in stating that someone is already logged in to the account.
As long as you’re not watching at the same time as each other, you should be good to go.
Thanks. I doubt that’ll ever be an issue for us so it looks like it’ll be business as usual.
That’s not how it works. You will be forced to set a “home” for your account, which then IP locks your account for stationary devices. Anyone else not on that IP and not on a mobile device won’t be able to watch.
Oh. Guess I’ll stop watching then. Thanks also.
I had a family account, but I stopped using it since going abroad to uni once they cracked down. The amount of content is just at the point where I don’t see any value to subscribing.
Generally though, exactly what killed cable TV is killing my use of Netflix and other services. All the interesting stuff is now so spread out on so many different services, it’s just no longer worth it.
Dealing with N different subscriptions and different websites, is too much BS to deal with AND pay for, so I’m just going to run my own server.It is trivial to sign up for a service when you want to watch something, and then cancel it when you don’t, until there’s something else you want to watch on the service. That is the benefit over cable.
Most people still treat it like a cable subscription: always on, even if they’re not watching it.