Netflix is fighting password sharing in Latin America by charging for additional ‘homes’

Netflix has introduced a new way people can share accounts — and, hence, a new way to curb password-sharing — for five Latin American countries. Starting on August 22nd, users in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will have to pay for extra “homes” if they want to access the streaming the service outside of their primary residence for longer than a short vacation. 

Subscribers can watch Netflix on their phones or tablets anytime and as much as they want even while they’re traveling or visiting another place. But if they want to stream on a TV, they can only access Netflix at no additional charge for two weeks while away from their primary residence. Further, they can only stream for free at a particular location once. After those two weeks are up, or if they go back to a location where they previously maxed out free access to the service, Netflix will ask if they would like to add a home for an additional fee per month.

Basic tier subscribers can add one extra home, standard up to two extra and premium up to three extra. Netflix says it uses information such as IP addresses, device IDs and account activity to detect homes, but it’s advising people to make sure their devices are using the same internet connection and aren’t using VPN or proxy services in case its system is insisting that the viewer is outside their primary residence when they aren’t. The company will also allow members to stop paying for an extra home whenever they want and to replace their added home up to three times every six months. 

Earlier this year, Netflix said it lost about 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 due to stiffer competition and the abundance of account sharing. According to Bloomberg, password sharing has been especially rampant in Latin America, which is most likely why that’s where the company is testing new features meant to prevent the behavior. In its announcement, Netflix said the service will cost users 219 Pesos per month per home in Argentina and $3 per month per home in the Dominican Republic, Honduras. El Salvador and Guatemala.