WHATISNETFLIXDOINGWITH THEIRNEWUPDATES?

By Coco Ferrari Ross '25

At the beginning of 2023, Netflix changed their password sharing conditions. Before this change, most Netflix users shared their account and password with extended family and friends. This meant that multiple people from multiple households could use and log into one Netflix account. This also meant that you rarely had to login to your Netflix account – a feature that made the app popular as it was so convenient and family friendly Netflix went as far as posting a tweet stating that “Love is sharing a password”.

However, as of 2023, Netflix changed their terms and conditions on their login and password sharing Now only immediate family members can use the same account, and they can only do so if they are living in the same household, using the same Wi-Fi. They also made it so that you have to login to your account every month on every device that you use the app on This is confusing as Netflix is usually advertised as a service of convenience and this update quite obviously, is very inconvenient. In fact, when Netflix first came out in 1998, their main selling point was that it was easier to go online and log in than it was to go to a dvd store and rent a movie. This selling point is no longer as effective or true as it has become a lot less convenient to be a monthly user of Netflix

Though logging into your account on every device every month may not sound so drastic, a majority of the Netflix users are of older generations and struggle with technology remembering passwords Netflix is competing in an extremely different environment and field than it was when it first came out. Now there are hundreds of other streaming apps that do not have these policies and are cheaper with possibly better movie selections You could understand why a person who can't remember their password or is struggling to use the app would just swipe to another streaming app such as Hulu or Disney plus

You also have to take into account the fact that many families live in separate households, for example divorced families, college students who do not live at home, and even traveling families These families cannot share the same account because they use different Wi-Fi routers. This means that these families must now pay an additional 6 euro for every account member that does not use the same Wi-Fi or lives in a different household for a “sub account”

On top of the password sharing, Netflix has also added advertisements prior to viewing certain content. This is strange due to the fact that when Netflix was first introduced, its main concept was that it was unlike regular TV You could choose the content you watch and since you already paid for the films, there were no advertisements. Another reason as to why this was surprising is that Netflix actually increased their membership prices by 1 5 euro on top of the 15 euro monthly payment. Why should netflix membership owners be paying more for adverts?

In most countries, Netflix has gone as far as making it illegal to share passwords Meaning password sharing in many countries such as the UK, United states of America and Italy is a punishable offense

This is also the same with the Netflix original sequel of “Full House” called “Fuller House” that made little profit with viewership falling by 52% from season one to season two in their first month of release, according to Jumpshot. Even though this sequel made very little compared to the original “Full House,” the original series was taken off of Netflix EU This quite obviously has aggravated many Netflix users.

With all of these new policies that Netflix has added, it is not as if the movie and series selection has gotten any better. In fact Netflix has gotten rid of many of their most popular titles such as “Minions” and “Little Women” They have also made Netflix original sequels to TV shows without keeping the original series. Two examples of this would be the recent “That 90s show” which came out January 19th but then removing the original “That 70s show” which had more yearly and monthly views.

Though it is understandable that Netflix would rather keep their originals and take off movies and TV shows due to licensing agreements, it is still confusing as to why a company that makes money off of being comforting and convenient would make so many sudden changes in policies and licensing agreements Netflix is still run by the same person who founded the company in 1997, Reed Hastings. "Whywouldyouuse

This raises the question: Why would you use Netflix if there are other better, cheaper streaming services? And if this is only the supposed beginning, according to the CEO Sed Tarandos, what is going to be next?