Netflix Didn't Mean to Post About Password Crackdown

Mistake gives customers a first look at what's under consideration
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 2, 2023 5:20 PM CST
Netflix Errantly Posts Guidelines on Password Crackdown
The Netflix button on a television remote control was juxtaposed with a Netflix web page in this photo in New York on Thursday.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Netflix has taken down guidelines on its password sharing crackdown posted prematurely Wednesday on its FAQ pages for US customers. The information applied to trials it's running in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica, the Guardian reports. The post was customers' first look at what the company is planning, per Yahoo Finance. In the trial, customers can pay to have one person outside the home use the host's account for a fee, which in Costa Rica is $2.99 a month. Users must connect the device they watch Netflix on to their home's Wi-Fi at least once a month and watch something on the app.

The mistaken post led to confusion about whether the crackdown has begun. It has not, per Wired, though executives have suggested it won't be long. The company is preparing for opposition once it makes changes. "There will be current members that are unhappy with this move," said Netflix chief operating officer Gregory Peters, likening the expected response to the one that follows prices increases. "We'll see a bit of a cancel reaction." Jason Kint of the trade organization Digital Content Next said Netflix has built its customers out of fans and might be flexible in the new rules. "They don't want to build detractors that are critical of their service," he said. (More Netflix stories.)

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