Many Canadians are cancelling their Netflix subscriptions due to the company’s recent changes to its account-sharing measures and increased charges. As part of its efforts to limit the use of a single account to one household, the streaming platform now requires an additional $7.99 fee for profiles belonging to individuals who live away from the primary account address. This has especially affected students, travellers, and friends or families who share a single account.
The announcement of these changes came as a surprise to many, as they took effect immediately and caused profiles away from home to lose access. The anger among Canadians stems not only from the suddenness of the changes but also from the apparent double standards applied by Netflix in North America, as the company has not mandated anything or introduced additional charges in the US despite its concerns about password sharing.
So it’s starting in Canada. @netflix won’t allow my university kid in residence to watch our family acct which I’m paying the highest fees. As well I’m told I can no longer watch Netflix when I travel to Quebec. Because it’s not my home wifi. pic.twitter.com/AHN3oA2ao6
— Tracey Kent (@TraceyKent) February 8, 2023
The number of cancellations since the announcement cannot be confirmed yet, but people have taken to social media to voice their dissatisfaction. Longtime subscribers are not publicly stating their plans to cancel, but are encouraging others to do so.
Netflix cites password sharing as hindering its ability to make money, with a statement from Chengyi Long, Director of Product Innovation at Netflix, explaining that over 100 million households share accounts, impacting the company’s ability to invest in new TV shows and films. Despite this, the platform reported revenue of nearly CA$10.5 billion in the third quarter of 2022, which equates to US$7.8 billion.
Love is sharing a password.
— Netflix (@netflix) March 10, 2017
What happened to that, Netflix?
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