Netflix has been ridiculed online because of a tweet that appeared after the company’s plans to combat the disclosure of passwords.
Last year, the streaming giant announced that it would start charging subscribers around the world an additional fee for sharing accounts between households from the beginning of 2023.
Netflix has not officially announced the details of the crackdown, but earlier this week a number of recommendations were mistakenly published on the company’s website. The rules, which were later repealed, required account holders to log into Netflix on a Wi-Fi-connected device in their home at least once every 31 days.
“Yesterday, for a short time, a help center article appeared in other countries containing information applicable only to Chile, Costa Rica and Peru. We have since updated it,” Netflix said in a statement (via the Guardian).
Last year, Netflix introduced password-sharing fees in some countries, including Argentina, Chile and Costa Rica, to try out a feature where the account holder pays for an additional person outside the owner’s home to gain access. The price varied depending on the country, but was about 2.99 US dollars (2.48 pounds sterling) per month.
After the recommendations were accidentally posted around the world, many Twitter users noted a previous Netflix tweet posted in March 2017 that read: “Love is password sharing.”
You can read some of the answers below.
lOvE iS sHaRiNg A pAsSwOrD https://t.co/FQ4L2r7lnc
— Arielle ✨ #KH20th (@khiethy) February 1, 2023
"Love is sharing a password."
~ Netflix, 2017 pic.twitter.com/BmODXKIfG4— Michael O'Connor (@NoWordCount) February 1, 2023
In a letter to shareholders announcing plans to charge subscribers for account sharing last year, Netflix said: “We have chosen a thoughtful approach to monetize account sharing, and we will begin to implement it widely starting in early 2023.
“After listening to consumer feedback, we are going to offer borrowers the opportunity to transfer their Netflix profile to their account, and members can more easily manage their devices and create additional accounts (“additional members”) if they want to pay for family or friends.”
Last year, Netflix launched a cheaper ad-supported plan in the UK at a cost of 4.99 pounds per month.
