By Natalia Rueda 
In a move that has set off a flurry of questions among its users, streaming giant Netflix has announced that they will now begin charging an extra balance for anyone using their account credentials to access the service, a move they say is intended to help curtail the use of shared passwords.
This new policy will be implemented in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and the United States, and is intended to address account sharing that occurs outside of the household for which the account was purchased. In order to avoid the additional charge, Netflix now allows its users to monitor current account usage and manage access from settings.
The policy is also intended to address a key concern among users who travel outside of their homes while still wanting the convenience and ease of use offered by Netflix. To this end, the streaming service now offers a two-week trial period during which users can access their account from a device other than the one they normally use. After that, users must re-authenticate their account with a code sent to their email or SMS-linked device, allowing them to continue to use their Netflix account while away from their primary location.
However, this new policy has raised the question of how Netflix will be able to determine if and when accounts are shared with those outside of the primary user’s household. To this end, the streaming company explains that it will be able to detect account sharing by a combination of public IPs and device identifiers.
These would be the prices of the “Extra Member” function
Mexico – 69 Mexican pesos per month (US$3.84)
Colombia – 8,900 Colombian pesos per month (US$1.96)
Argentina – 699 Argentine pesos per month (US$2.98)
USA – $7.99 per month
It remains to be seen how effective this new policy will be in curtailing the illegal use of shared passwords. However, with Netflix firmly asserting its stance on the issue, it could potentially have an impact on how the streaming service is used going forward.