Tech expert weighs in on Netflix Canada password sharing crackdown

Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crackdown on password sharing this week.

Starting on Tuesday, the streaming giant will be charging customers an additional fee to allow people outside the household to stream.

The account holder will need to add a primary location to their account by the deadline of Feb. 21. Any users outside of that location will be blocked unless they pay a fee.

Some users in Waterloo region reported having their accounts blocked as early as Feb. 10.

“You’re only allowed to share it for eight bucks each to two other households outside your own,” said tech expert Marc Saltzman.

Saltzman said the reason for the change is because Netflix has 230 million paying subscribers worldwide, but it's estimated there could be as many as 100 million people watching with shared passwords.

“Netflix is losing a lot of money here by some estimates $7 to 8 billion USD a year from password sharing, so they think it's time to clamp down,” Saltzman said.

Users will still be able to watch Netflix when they travel, but they’ll have to confirm it’s their account to gain temporary access.

Some residents in Waterloo region said they’re disappointed about the change.

“Annoying. It gets on people’s nerves because, it’s like, they’re only out for the money,” said one user.

Some are moving closer to cancelling the service.

“I feel just like cancelling it is making a statement to the company that it’s not ok to crack down on password sharing,” said another user.