As Netflix began its password-sharing crackdown in earnest earlier this week, rival Amazon Prime Video took aim at the streaming giant with a hilarious post.
Netflix on Tuesday expanded its crackdown on password sharing to more than 100 other countries, alerting users that their accounts cannot be shared for free outside of their households. The clampdown on password sharing comes after a year of lackluster subscriber growth for Netflix, which is now looking for new ways to make money, according to Reuters.
But Netflix’s decision to ban users from sharing their passwords with friends and family gave its rival the perfect opportunity to take a potshot at the streaming platform.
The official Twitter account of Amazon Prime Video UK dug up a 2017 post from Netflix that did not age well. The Netflix tweet from 2017 declared “Love is sharing a password” – it was written at a time when the streaming service was attracting subscribers in droves. At that time, management had little incentive to risk riling customers by reining in password sharing.
Prime Video UK quote-tweeted the Netflix post with the message: “Who's watching? Everyone Who Has Our Password.”
While Amazon’s streaming service did take a dig at Netflix, it did not rule out similar measures in their own future.
“Giggling and tweeting and hoping we don’t do the same,” the Prime Video UK wrote in a follow-up tweet.
Netflix on Tuesday said it was sending emails about account sharing to customers in 103 countries and territories, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil.
The emails state that a Netflix account should only be used in one household. Paying customers can add a member outside of their homes for an additional fee. In the United States, the fee is $8 per month.
The company had estimated that more than 100 million households had supplied their log-in credentials to friends and family outside their homes. As of the end of March, Netflix's paying customers totaled 232.5 million globally.
Under the new policies, people within the same household can continue sharing a Netflix account and can use it on various devices when traveling, the company said.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
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