The streaming media landscape is constantly evolving as various streaming services evolve their business models. Prices change all the time. Disney+ recently added advertising. Netflix, the company that basically started it all, has made no secret of its desire to crack down on password sharing, and now it’s taken a big step in Canada designed to incentivize people who don’t pay their bills to start to do it. so, but instead it seems to cause a flood of people canceling their Netflix subscriptions.
Netflix users in Canada are notified via email and messages on their screens when they open their Netflix app that changes are made to their accounts. Users must now set a primary location for their account, and logins from other locations have the option of being blocked. Users are unhappy and various Tik Tok people who are canceling their Netflix subscriptions in protest are going viral.
@dan_of_innsmouth (opens in a new tab)
♬ The End – The Gates (opens in a new tab)
Sharing passwords is one of those things that we know streaming services don’t like, but a lot of people do. Parents share their accounts with their kids in college. Adult children provide access to their parents who may not have the income to pay for such things. Netflix has restrictions on sharing passwords elsewhere. Netflix dismissed a recent suggestion that these kinds of rules were coming to the US, but it’s definitely happening in Canada.
@hermosa. tormenta (opens in a new tab)
♬ original sound – Spooky.babixo (opens in a new tab)
The point of all of this, of course, is to get people who aren’t currently paying for Netflix to start doing so. Netflix, which has seen its subscribers and magazine steadily grow, saw this growth stumble for the first time recently. The belief is that those who can no longer use an existing account will start paying to keep access to content. Ultimately, this may prove to be a success, but these new accounts will also cover the income of those who are lost when frustrated people cancel their accounts.
@elainatheprogressive (opens in a new tab)
♬ Elevator Music – Bohoman (opens in a new tab)
Exactly how all of these new rules will work remains to be seen, but one user called Netflix to try and get some clarification. It appears that devices that aren’t your primary location and haven’t been used for a while will be locked to the account. The problem for some is that many of these devices may still be perfectly fine under current rules, which makes using your Netflix account potentially painful.
@shellswatso (opens in a new tab)
♬ original sound – Shelley Watson (opens in a new tab)
While Netflix has yet to implement significant new rules around password sharing in the US, it seems like only a matter of time before that happens. The only way it won’t is if the backlash against the new rules in places like Canada proves large enough to hurt Netflix’s bottom line. We will definitely have to wait and see. On the plus side, as some TikToks point out, canceling your Netflix subscription is apparently quite simple.
Source: Cinemablend
