Watching Netflix on your friend's account? You need to know this

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There is a piece of bad news for people who watch Netflix shows by borrowing passwords from their friends, family, or acquaintances.

Streaming giant Netflix has estimated that over 100 million (10 crore) users are sharing their passwords with their near and dear ones, which includes 30 million (3 crore) users in the United States and Canada.  In its letter to shareholders, released on April 20, Netflix cited “the large number of households sharing accounts” as a critical factor “creating revenue growth headwinds.

Netflix has customarily avoided the idea of putting curbs on password sharing but hinted on April 20 that the accommodative policy may change soon.

“This is a big opportunity as these households are already watching Netflix

and enjoying our service,” the company said. “Sharing likely

helped fuel our growth by getting more people using and enjoying Netflix. And we’ve always tried to make sharing within a member’s household easy, with features like profiles and multiple streams. While these have been very

popular, they’ve created confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared with other households.”

The streaming giant has blamed inflation, the war in Ukraine and fierce competition for the loss of subscribers, further predicting deeper losses ahead.

The company said it lost 2 lakh subscribers in its first quarter, against its forecast of adding 2.5 million subscribers. Netflix added that it has lost 7 lakh subscribers due to the winding-down of all Russian paid memberships.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on April 20 blamed 'woke' content of Netflix for the depleting user engagement.  "The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable", the 50-year-old tycoon tweeted.

In December 2021, Netflix slashed the prices of its subscriptions plans in a bid to ramp up its user base in India. Netflix has reduced the prices of its subscription plans first time since it started offering its services in 2016.

The streaming platform currently has 222 million subscribers worldwide.