Netflix to Start Restrictions on Account and Password Sharing in India

Netflix has announced that it is bringing restrictions on account and password sharing to its user base in India from July 20 onwards. The streaming service, which has long viewed account and password sharing as a loss in potential revenue, took similar steps in its home market of the United States in the early part of 2023, before expanding the restrictions to over 100 countries in May. Users in India who are using Netflix accounts in different households will initially receive an email detailing the steps to be taken with regard to account usage.

Netflix password sharing in India

The announcement of the new restrictions came via Netflix early on Thursday July 20, specifically pertaining to the service’s India operations. As per the update, Netflix will initially send out emails to users who are using the same Netflix account outside of a single household, pointing out that a single account is meant to be used just one household. Users outside the household of the primary member will be asked to transfer their profile to a fresh account and subscription.

In India, Netflix’s relatively free hand has allowed users to use a single Netflix account across multiple households and users; this can help to potentially split the subscription fee across a group that may not be within the same household, such as a group of friends or relatives. These new restrictions will make usage for those users a lot more complicated to start with, and could eventually lead to more straightforward steps as well.

How will Netflix restrict account and password sharing?

As detailed in our post on how Netflix hopes to enforce its restrictions on account and password sharing, the service will make it increasingly complicated for users outside the primary household to use a Netflix account. This involves the need to enter verifications codes for access for up to seven days, or connecting to a Wi-Fi network in their primary location at least once every 31 days.

Netflix can, of course, be used when traveling, and the company seems to have the means to not create hassles for primary household users who might want to use their Netflix accounts away from home. The company states that it verifies devices in a household by tracking IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account.

While users in India are being asked to transfer existing profiles to new paid memberships entirely, Netflix rolled out paid sharing in May across various regions as well, although there’s no word if any specific new options related to paid sharing will be available to users in India.

Netflix subscription plans in India start at Rs. 149 per month for the Mobile plan which only works on portable devices, going up to Rs. 649 per month for the Premium plan which offers access to Ultra-HD content on up to four devices at a time across mobile, televisions, computers, and streaming devices. It’s worth pointing out here that accounts can have multiple user profiles on any plan, and restrictions are only on the amount of devices watching Netflix simultaneously.