Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) crackdown on password sharing has come to the U.S.
The streaming service said it began alerting members on Tuesday about its new sharing policy, noting that Netflix accounts are only to be shared within a single household.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” the company said in an email, which it posted to its blog on Tuesday.
The email goes on to say that members can transfer a profile of someone outside of their household so the person can begin a new membership they pay for on their own. Or they can pay an extra fee – $7.99 a month – per person outside of their household using their account.
On Netflix’s subscription plans page, it notes that extra members can be added to its standard and premium plans without ads.
Netflix warned it would be tightening its guidelines on password sharing in a push to boost revenue and subscriber numbers, soon after the company began seeing growth stagnate.
Originally, Netflix was expected to roll out its crackdown on people who borrow other accounts to create their own profiles late in the first quarter, but alerted investors and customers during an earnings call last month that it was pushing the move until the second quarter.
The streamer has said that more than 100 million households share accounts, which is about 43% of its global user base. Netflix said this has affected its ability to invest in new content.
NFLX began Wednesday up $4.66, or 1.3%, to $360.65.
