“It's time to go be seen”, “It smells like the end”: Netflix puts in place the end of free account sharing, subscribers crack

By Quentin Piton Journalist Series – Cinema Journalist specializing in series, cinema, but also anime and manga. Spends his time dreaming of Emma Watson, considers Olivier Giroud the GOAT and refuses to speak with those who are against the absolute truth which is: How I Met Your Mother is a better series than Friends. Even though some of the screenwriters who work for Netflix are currently on strike in the USA to deplore their too low salaries, the streaming platform has at the same time announced its intention … to charge its subscribers more. This Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the end of free account sharing was formalized in France. And inevitably, Internet users are angry at this price increase.

On March 10, 2017, Netflix wrote this on Twitter: “Love is sharing your password“. This Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the streaming platform decided to trample on the concept of love and crush the hearts of its subscribers. While the streaming site already spends its time antagonizing the public by canceling beloved series or regularly increasing the prices of its subscriptions, this time it has just announced the worst decision: the end of the free account sharing.

It's the end of account sharing on Netflix

“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with. New features in France will allow you to better manage your account, Netflix said last night on its social networks. Good of course, you can always watch your favorite series and movies while traveling“. In other words: unless you live with the people who use your account (family, roommates, etc.), you will now have to pay more to allow your loved ones to squat it.

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And of course, we are not talking about an increase of 50 cents. As the platform specifies in a press release sent by email to customers, the surcharge imposed will be up to €5.99 /month per profile. Just that. It's probably more than the salary of its screenwriters, currently on strike in Hollywood.

Angry Internet users< /h2>

A real blow for Internet users even though France is already facing terrible inflation, considered hypocritical as Netflix has surfed the concept of account sharing for a long time to offer itself a cool image and motivate viewers to subscribe. Also, unsurprisingly, it didn't take long for the first reviews to appear on the networks.

Between those who admit to being tired of being taken for cash cows, those who announce that they are ready to unsubscribe and those who put forward the concept of piracy, Netflix will have a job to restore its image and reconcile with the audience. Knowing that in Spain, this decision – implemented since the beginning of the year, has already caused the platform to lose 1 million users between January and March.

“But for those who already pay 20 € per month is already a lot but in addition you will have to subscribe to another one to be able to share my Netflix account, we are really going too far“, can we read on Twitter , just like, “How is it possible to make so many bad decisions in such a short time? I hope this measure will make you lose more money than it will bring you“, “Netflix I liked you but now it's time to fuck you, it's going on a termination” or even “The very definition of “shooting yourself in the foot”: Canceling good series and charging even more for subscriptions.. it smells like the end of Netflix, friends.. .“

For the little anecdote, know that the leaders of Netflix – aware of the bad buzz to come, have at the same time promised two good news. A few months after the launch of the “Netflix Essential” subscription which, for only €5.99/month, gives access to a reduced catalog while at the same time suffering from the presence of advertisements (4 minutes per hour of viewing), it has just been announced that their display time will be reduced, and that they will now be chosen according to the interests of subscribers.