Netflix expands password sharing crackdown from Latin America to Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain

Having already test driven its paid-for account sharing in Latin America, Netflix has expanded its efforts to end password sharing to four other regions.

Now, users in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain will no longer be able to share their Netflix account with friends or family outside of their household without paying to do so. The company is pushing the move as a way to give "members greater control over who can access their account", but the reality is about money.

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Announcing the widening of its account sharing controls, Netflix says: "We've always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account with features like profiles and multiple streams. While these have been hugely popular, they've also created confusion about when and how you can share Netflix. Today, over 100 million households are sharing accounts -- impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films".

The company goes on to say:

So over the last year, we've been exploring different approaches to address this issue in Latin America, and we're now ready to roll them out more broadly in the coming months, starting today in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Our focus has been on giving members greater control over who can access their account.

Netflix stresses that an account is intended for a one household, and while the company is billing the paid-for account sharing expansion as a way to generate more money to invest in shows and movies, it is unclear just how many account sharers are likely to be convinced to pay up.

Sharing details of pricing, Netflix says:

Members on our Standard or Premium plan in many countries (including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain) can add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with -- each with a profile, personalized recommendations, login and password -- for an extra CAD$7.99 a month per person in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, Euro 3.99 in Portugal, and Euro 5.99 in Spain. 

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