Netflix has started cracking down on account sharing worldwide, and it is also reported that the ban on ``free riding'' has resulted in an unexpected increase in the number of users

From July 20, 2023, Netflix, a major video distribution service, has banned account sharing between different households in all markets. It is also reported that Netflix's crackdown on account ``free riding'' due to password sharing has resulted in an unexpected increase in the number of users.

Netflix brings password-sharing crackdown to India and every other market | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/netflix-account-password-sharing-crackdown/

Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is going worldwide -
https://www.androidauthority.com/netflix-password-sharing-restrictions-worldwide-3346713/

In subscription services such as Netflix, the existence of users who share account passwords with multiple people and illegally watch content is a headache. Netflix reports in its quarterly results announced in April 2022 that 100 million users share accounts.

The number of Netflix members decreased for the first time in the past 10 years, and a plan with advertisements was considered as a countermeasure, and the cause is that 100 million users share passwords-GIGAZINE

Therefore, Netflix in recent years has embarked on an aggressive crackdown on account sharing. From March 2022, new features such as ``adding subaccounts'' and ``transferring profiles to new accounts'' will be tested in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica, and efforts will be made to make users who share accounts pay a fair fee.

In 2023, crackdowns began in earnest, and many countries such as Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spainstarted sending warning emails ``Do not share passwords with others.'' Netflix allows account sharing with people living in the same household, but it detects that the account is shared with a person who is not a cohabitant based on information such as IP address, device ID, and account activity, and sends a warning email to the corresponding user.

Following these crackdowns, it was reported that more than 1 million users canceled their Netflix subscriptions in the first quarter of 2023, tripling the number of cancellations year-over-year.

As a result of Netflix cracking down on ``free riding'' by sharing passwords, the number of users decreased by more than 1 million, and the number of cancellations tripled compared to the same period last year-GIGAZINE

However, at the time of writing the article, the increase in the number of canceled users due to crackdowns on account sharing had already stopped, and it was reported that the number of newly subscribed users reached 5.9 million in the second quarter of 2023. Analysts had estimated that about 2 million new users would join in the second quarter due to the account sharing crackdown, but the crackdown has resulted in a significantly higher user growth than analysts expected.

Netflix gains more new subscribers than expected following password-sharing crackdown | Netflix | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/19/netflix-subscriber-growth-password-sharing

And Netflix announced in a letter to shareholders that starting July 20, it will expand its crackdown on account sharing in all countries where the platform is deployed. Netflix users in Japan have already reported that they have received emails cracking down on account sharing.

I received an account sharing crackdown email from Netflix w
A family who went to school in another region uses it as it is, but it's no good if it's not the same household. I haven't used it recently, so I'll change it to the lowest plan and give it away. pic.twitter.com/Yscs0hf7vZ

— HK_p7m13 (@Kamakiriad02) July 19, 2023

On the other hand, not all countries that crack down on account sharing offer cheap sub-account options. In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said it expects to respond by subscribing to cheaper plans rather than adding subaccounts because some markets with lower penetration already have cheaper plans.