Netflix is testing another way to combat password sharing by prompting subscribers to pay an additional fee if they use their account outside their primary household for more than two weeks.
The Verge reports that subscribers must pay an additional $2.99 (R51) to add a secondary location to their profile.
Users will also be given the option to set the second location as their primary household to avoid paying the fee.
A Netflix support page for Honduras — one of the test countries — states that as of 18 July 2022, each Netflix account includes one home where users can stream on supported devices.
It specified that subscribers’ Netflix plan limits the number of devices that can stream concurrently within a home.
Netflix’s Basic plan only allows one simultaneous screen, while its Standard and Premium plans allow two and four, respectively.
“Beginning August 22, 2022, to use your Netflix account in additional homes, we will ask if you want to add a home for an additional fee per month. We will not automatically add a home and charge the extra fee,” Netflix’s support page reads.
“You can watch Netflix on a TV outside your home for up to two weeks as long as your account has not been previously used in that location. This is allowed once per location per year.”
Users that do not add the extra home and continue to watch in a second location for more than two weeks will end up having the TV blocked.
Netflix said it detects homes through IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity.
The streaming provider said users should ensure their devices are connected to the same Internet connection and aren’t using a VPN if they are presented with an error message stating too many homes are using their account.
Netflix began testing an account-sharing feature earlier this year to prevent people from sharing accounts with people outside their households.
It allowed account holders to add more members without those new streamers paying the full subscription fee.
“For the last year, we’ve been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more,” the company said.
It provided the option to people in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru as part of a limited test.