LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA - Netflix on Tuesday expanded its crackdown on password sharing to the United States and more than 100 other countries, alerting users that their accounts cannot be shared for free beyond their households.

The streaming video pioneer has been looking for new ways to make money as it faces signs of market saturation, with efforts including the password crackdown and a new ad-supported service.

Netflix on Tuesday said it was sending e-mails about account sharing to customers in 103 countries and territories, including the US, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Mexico and Brazil.

The e-mails state that a Netflix account should be used in only one household. Paying customers can add a member outside their homes for an additional fee. In the US, the fee is US$8 (S$10.80) per month.

In Singapore, it will cost users $6.98 per month.

An extra member will have his own profile, account and password, but his membership will be paid for by the person who made the invitation to join.

Details of the new guidelines in Netflix’s help centre state that extra members can watch Netflix on any device, but on only one device at a time. Titles can also be downloaded, but on only one phone or tablet at a time.

Unlike the account owner, extra members will not be able to create additional profiles. They also cannot have kids’ profiles. The account has to be activated in the same country as the owner of the account.

Account owners can also transfer a person’s profile so the user can keep the viewing history and recommendations.

In previous reports, the streaming giant said it uses a combination of IP addresses, device IDs, and “account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account” to determine if an account is being used in the primary account holder’s household.

A device may be blocked from playing Netflix programmes if it is deemed to have accessed the service from outside the registered household.

Netflix in 2022 said it was going to limit account sharing and was testing various approaches in some markets.

The company had estimated that more than 100 million households had supplied their login credentials to friends and family outside their homes. As at the end of March, Netflix’s paying customers totalled 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 travelling, the company said. REUTERS

Additional reporting by Anjali Raguraman