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Tag: streaming

  • New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

    New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

    Spotify announced today on its Community Blog that iOS users can now use a lock screen widget to help them get into the Spotify app faster on their iPhone handsets. Or, as the music streamer wrote, “After you add the new Spotify widget to your Lock Screen, tapping on it will quickly open the Spotify app. So whether you’re busy on the go, in the car, or at home, the Spotify app is now always just one tap away.”
    To add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone, you must be running iOS 16 or later. Here’s how you can add it to your iPhone:
    1. Unlock your iPhone. When you see your Lock Screen, long-press on the screen until the Customize button pops up, then tap the Customize button.
    2. Tap and select Lock Screen.
    3. Tap Add Widgets (if you’ve already added widgets, tap on the box area underneath the time).
    4. Scroll through the list and tap on Spotify or drag it to add it to the Lock Screen.
    5. When you’re finished, tap on the (X) Close button at the top right of the list, then tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.
    6. Tap on your finished Lock Screen to exit.
    If you don’t see the option to add the Spotify lock screen widget, you might not have your phone’s latest version of the Spotify app. Simply install the app from the App Store to get the latest version of the app. You can find it here.
    How to add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone
    Spotify also offers a widget for the iPhone home screen. To add this to your phone, long-press on an empty bit of real estate on your home screen until your apps jiggle. Tap the “+” button in the upper left corner and search for the Spotify widget. There are two different widgets to choose from with the larger one showing the album covers from the last five songs you’ve streamed on the platform. The smaller widget shows the album cover from the last song you streamed. Tap on any album cover to return to the Spotify app.
    Once you’ve decided on the widget you want to use, tap on the “Add Widget” button at the bottom of the screen and the widget will find a place on your home screen. If you’re satisfied with the placement, tap the “Done” button in the upper right corner of the screen.
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  • HBO Max rebrands itself and relaunches on May 23

    HBO Max rebrands itself and relaunches on May 23

    As expected, Warner Bros. Discovery revealed its plans regarding the HBO Max streaming service. The company announced earlier today that the service will be relaunched on May 23 under a different name: Max.

    According to Warner Bros. Discovery, Max is an enhanced version of the current streaming service, and will include a massive library HBO Originals, Warner Bros. movies, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, lots of kids-friendly content, as well as popular programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle, and documentaries from brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID, and more.

    Once Max launches on May 23, three new pricing options will be available for customers, which seem to be tailored for just about every scenario. Here is how much you’ll have to pay if you want to join Max:

    • Max Ad-Lite ($9.99/month or $99.99/year): 2 concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
    • Max Ad Free ($15.99/month or $149.99/year): 2 concurrent streams, 1080 resolution, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
    • Max Ultimate Ad Free ($19.99/month or $199.99/year): 4 concurrent streams, up to 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads, Dolby Atmos sound quality

    As far as existing HBO Max subscribers go, they will be given a minimum of a six-month grace period during which they will be able to continue to use their current plan. Eventually, they will have to switch to one of the newer Max plans, where they will find that their profiles, settings, watch history, “Continue Watching,” and “My List” items will be automatically migrated.

    In related news, Max provided first looks at additional upcoming titles, including Max Originals The Penguin, HBO Original drama series The Sympathizer, HBO Original limited series True Detective: Night Country, HBO Original limited series The Regime, Max Original six-part docuseries SmartLess: On The Road, Max Original kids’ series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and a first look at HGTV’s four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

    Max will only be launched in the United States on May 23, but Warner Bros. Discovery plans to expand the availability of the streaming service to other countries in 2024.

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  • Google TV has just added 800 free channels to its offering

    Google TV has just added 800 free channels to its offering

    Google TV is trying to catch up with the competition and has just announced a massive expansion of its offering. Starting today, no less than 800 free channels will be available via the Google TV streaming service.

    The new offering comes with a new live TV experience allowing users to browse the new TV channels across multiple providers, organized in an easy-to-use guide in the Live tab. If you haven’t tried Google TV yet, you might want to know that starting today the streaming service includes access to free channels from Tubi, Plex, and Haystack News directly into the Live tab.

    In addition, Google TV has launched free built-in channels from the streaming service that can be watched without the need to download or boot up an app. Among the 800 free channels added today, Google TV offers access to news channels from NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX. Also, channels worldwide are available too, with programming in more than 10 languages, including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese.

    Long-time users will find that the new TV guide allows them to save their Favorites to the top for quick and easy access at their leisure. Although these are free channels, those with a premium live TV subscription from YouTube TV or Sling TV, or access to over-the-air channels, can now use the Live tab to watch their favorite content.

    Regarding availability, the Mountain View company announced that the new live TV experience will be released on all Google TV devices in the US, including Chromecast with Google TV and TVs with Google TV built-in from Sony, TCL, Hisense and Philips.

    Last but not least, Google TV confirmed plans to bring the new TV guide and free channels to eligible Android TV devices later this year.

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  • Useful new features are coming to YouTube Premium

    Useful new features are coming to YouTube Premium

    YouTube Premium offers features such as ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music and the ability to keep both services running in the background instead of closing down when you open another app. The premium version of YouTube and YouTube Music also allows subscribers to download content to play at another time, possibly when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity available.
    YouTube Premium is adding some new features, including one that will allow FaceTime users to view YouTube videos with others at the same time. This is similar to the Google Meet Live Sharing that is already available for Android users. In the coming weeks, YouTube Premium will be adding SharePlay support. Some services already offer support for SharePlay, including Hulu, HBO Max, TikTok, Apple Fitness Plus, Twitch, Spotify, and ESPN Plus.

    Also on the way to YouTube Premium subscribers using iOS is a feature called “1080p Premium” which delivers 1080p HD video to subscribers with an enhanced bitrate. This will make videos “extra crisp and clear.” Google hopes to bring this to YouTube Premium subscribers using an Android-powered device. Google says, “Whether you’re an avid sports fan or locked in on the latest gaming videos, this new feature will bring our members an even deeper visual quality!” There are no changes to videos being viewed in 1080p using the free version of YouTube.

    Starting today, YouTube Premium subscribers will be able to use the Queue feature on phones and tablets. Queue temporarily saves videos for users to view later. Unlike “Save to Watch later” or “Save to playlist,” which saves content on subscribers’ devices, videos and tunes can be put in a queue by tapping the three-dot menu to the right of videos (excluding Shorts) and selecting “Play last in queue.” In the Queue list, you can change the order of the videos in line to be played or remove videos from the queue.
    YouTube Premium members are also getting a feature called “Continue watching.” If you begin viewing a YouTube video but don’t finish watching it, the next time you open YouTube.com, you’ll see a prompt in the bottom right corner of the display that when tapped, will start the video you had been viewing from the exact point where you left off. And with Smart Downloads, YouTube will automatically download recommended videos for offline viewing.
    An individual subscription is priced at $11.99 per month and you can sign up for a year in advance for $119.99 which works out to $9.99 per month. A family subscription that adds up to 5 family members (13 years old and up) costs $22.99 per month, and a student subscription (which needs proof that you are a student) costs $6.99 monthly. All of these subscriptions offer a one-month free trial and you can learn more about subscribing to the service by going to www.youtube.com/premium.
  • Netflix games could soon be playable on TVs using your phone

    Netflix games could soon be playable on TVs using your phone

    It has been more or less two years since Netflix started offering its subscribers a whole gaming segment. The company started in 2021 with roughly 50 titles in its arsenal and has increased that with another 40 or so more since then.

    The new service, however, was available only on iOS, iPadOS, and Android. This left the most obvious and exciting medium, TVs — where the Netflix name initially became a household one — unutilized.

    The good news is that an app developer by the name of Steve Moser has discovered hidden code inside the app hinting the company is planning to finally make the big step forward and offer its games on TV as well. Maybe equally exciting is the next information dug out by Moser, which insinuates users would have the option to use their phones, be it Android or iPhone, to play the games on their TV screens.

    Here’s the text hinting at the phone-controller functionality:

    A game on your TV needs a controller to play. Do you want to use this phone as a game controller?

    This could potentially be a game changer for Netflix and bring it one step closer to retaining its subscribers, which is one of the main reasons the platform started introducing Games to its service in the first place. After serious backlash following price hikes and talks of harsher regulation on account sharing, this would be a great opportunity for Netflix to score some extra “cool” points.

    If the streaming giant decides to go along with this endeavor, it would also serve as a solid foundation for the company’s ambition to launch a cloud-gaming service, for which it is perfectly positioned now. That would allow anyone with a Netflix subscription (although it might be a new tier with a new price slapped onto it) to play more demanding titles that would not require powerful equipment and installation, just a very strong and stable internet connection.

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  • Spotify launches new Niche Mixes feature for even more personalized recommendations

    Spotify launches new Niche Mixes feature for even more personalized recommendations

    Spotify already has a Mixes feature that provides users with personalized recommendations, but if you’re not content with what playlists you’re offered, the music streaming service has a brand-new product for you: <a href=”https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-03-28/introducing-niche-mixes-personalized-playlists-for-almost-anything-you-can-think-of/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener”>Niche Mixes</a>.

    The new addition to the Mixes family provides users with multiple personalized playlists that bring together everything that Spotify’s Mixes offer in a more user-friendly manner. With Niche Mixes, Spotify gives users access to tens of thousands of Mixes unique to them based on just about anything you can think of.

    The new Niche Mixes feature can be accessed from the Made For You hub within the Search tab. Spotify users looking for something very specific can now search for an activity, vibe, or even an aesthetic that describes the moment they’re in, and then add the word “mix” at the end.

    Typically, you’ll be getting 5-10 Mixes that the service thinks you’ll like, but if none are suitable for you, then you can specifically search for another set of personalized playlists. Each Mix is updated daily, so even if you get similar results, you might actually get different vibes every day.

    Now, the good news is Niche Mixes is available globally to Free users and those who chose to pay for a Spotify subscription. Remember that this is an English-only feature regardless of where you live.

    This feels more like an improvement to Spotify’s search engine rather than an update to the service’s algorithm. Regardless of what stands behind the new Niche Mixes, Spotify’s new feature will certainly add even more functionality useful to those who want to go even more in-depth into what music they’re listening at any given time.

    Anyway, give the new feature a try and let us know in the comments if it’s working for you.

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  • Spotify upgrades one important feature in the latest update

    Spotify upgrades one important feature in the latest update

    One of the biggest music streaming services, Spotify, has just announced a small yet meaningful update to its app. Typically, we don’t report on updates that involve minor changes like turning a Heart icon into a Plus, but Spotify’s update does more than add visual changes.

    Earlier today, Spotify officialized a brand-new change that benefits all its users. The app’s iconic Heart button will be replaced with a Plus button that does more than just marking the songs you want to save.

    Basically, Spotify is unifying the Heart and “Add to playlist” icons into a single symbol: the Plus (+) button. This means that when you use the Plus (+) button, you will be able to save and choose the destination of any song, playlist, or podcast with a single tap.

    Going forward, in order to save a song or podcast episode, Spotify users must tap the Plus (+) button positioned to the right of the song or episode title in the Now Playing view. After the song or podcast has been added to Liked Songs or Your Episodes, the Plus (+) button will become a green check. Moreover, you can even change the destination of your saved content by simply tapping the green check.

    Another option at your disposal makes it possible to add an entire album to Your Library. Simply click the Plus (+) button to add your favorite album, playlist, or audiobook to Your Library. Once you see the green check, it means that it’s been successfully added.

    Obviously, the reason behind the new change is a simple, more unified user experience. Having a more streamlined way to save favorite music and podcasts means a lot these days when any extra action makes us lose focus.

    Unsurprisingly, this is exactly what Spotify found in its user research. On top of that, the same research found that saving songs and podcasts makes us more likely to listen to them again, which is pretty interesting.

    According to Spotify, the new changes to the Heart icon will begin to roll out to all users globally on iOS and Android starting today and will become available to all users in the coming weeks.

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  • YouTube Music will soon officially support podcasts but not replace the Google Podcasts app

    YouTube Music will soon officially support podcasts but not replace the Google Podcasts app

    As part of a larger push for podcasting across the platform as a whole, YouTube has today made the official announcement that podcasts will soon be distributed through YouTube Music. This comes after several months of buildup and speculation on whether podcasts would become part of the YouTube experience as a whole, or just the Music app.

    The official announcement took place today at the “Hot Pod Summit” in Brooklyn as part of On Air Fest, and it was made by YouTube’s Podcast Lead, Kai Chuk. However, no specific date was given as to when this was taken place, and was announced as coming “in the near future.”

    The news reached the masses via a tweet by Arielle Nissenblatt of SquadCast.fm, and included some preliminary information as to how the feature would work, including that YouTube Music would stream podcasts even when the user’s screen is locked. Additionally, Alban Brooke of Buzzsprout tweeted additional information regarding the announcement, which included the fact that the podcast experience on YouTube Music will be audio-first and will aim for “unifying the audio and video experience,” allowing users to begin listening to a podcast on one device before continuing it on another.

    Google confirmed all the above and clarified that YouTube Music will only support podcasts in the United States for the time being. Furthermore, Google added that creators will be able to upload their audio podcasts via RSS “later this year.”

    We will soon start to bring both audio and video-first podcasts to YouTube Music for users in the US, making podcasts more discoverable and accessible, with more regions to come. This will help make the podcasts that users already love on YouTube, available in all the places they want to listen.

    We’re also rolling out podcast creation in YouTube Studio, making it easier for Creators to set their videos as podcasts. Podcast playlists will be eligible for current and upcoming podcast features on YouTube, such as eligibility for youtube.com/podcasts, podcast badging, and inclusion in the YouTube Music app.

    The announcement went on to state that YouTube will make suggestions for podcasts to users based on the types of content that user typically listens to and that YouTube Channels may in the future have a tab specifically designated for podcasts. Additionally, YouTube clarified that the music rights for podcasts will be the same as those for videos.

    For now it appears that the standalone Google Podcasts app will not be immediately discontinued as a direct result of YouTube Music’s decision to include podcasts, which is good news considering that we don’t have an exact date of when the service will launch on YouTube Music. Furthermore, it would probably best for there to be a transition period to move users over and a tool to ensure that their existing subscriptions are migrated.

  • Netflix’s crackdown on password-sharing extends to more countries

    Netflix’s crackdown on password-sharing extends to more countries

    After announcing its plan to prevent its customers from sharing their accounts with friends and family, Netflix started to trial new changes to password sharing in several countries from Latin America, including Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

    Earlier this week, Netflix announced that the changes to account sharing revealed last year will be rolled out in more countries. Detailed at the beginning of this month, these changes are now introduced in four countries before being rolled out globally in March.

    Starting today, changes to account sharing are rolling out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. If you live in any of these countries and share your account with one or more people, you’ll have to pay extra. But first, customers in these four countries will be asked to set their primary location, allowing them and anyone who lives in the household to use the Netflix account.

    Next, Netflix customers who’d like to provide access to their account to someone else will be able to do so from the Manage Access and Devices page. Another important change involves the ability to transfer a profile to a new account, which is paid for, thus keeping personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, and saved games.

    Don’t worry, even after setting your primary location, you will still be able to watch Netflix on your personal device or log into a new TV when you’re not at home.

    The most important part of these changes is the option to buy an extra member. To continue to share your account with others, you will have to pay for each extra member who uses your account. Netflix customers subscribed to either Standard or Premium plan and live in one of the four countries mentioned can add an extra member sub account for up to two people they don’t live with.

    Each sub account comes with a profile, personalized recommendations, login and password of their own. As far as the price goes, a sub account costs CAD$7.99 a month in Canada, NZD$7.99 in New Zealand, 3.99€ in Portugal, and 5.99€ in Spain.

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  • Spotify has officially crossed 200 million premium subscribers

    Spotify has officially crossed 200 million premium subscribers

    The recently concluded holiday shopping season may not have been as auspicious for the global smartphone market as we’ve expected over the years, but for some reason, the music streaming industry doesn’t appear to be suffering any consequences of a tough economic climate around the world.

    Not yet, at least, and not as far as said industry’s heavyweight champion is concerned, with some of Spotify’s key success indicators surging higher than initially anticipated during the final quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021 and last year’s third calendar quarter.
    There are now 205 million people worldwide paying for Spotify’s “Premium” service tier, up no less than 10 million from Q3 2022 and a cool 25 million versus Q4 2021. How does the new milestone compare to the competition? Unfortunately, there’s no way to know… for sure.
    That’s because Apple effectively stopped making those kinds of figures public back in 2019, when around 60 million people were subscribed to the company’s paid Music platform. Of course, many unofficial guesses and estimates followed, with one from 2021 boosting that number to 78 million and one from last year circling 88 million.
    What’s crystal clear is that Apple Music still has a long way to go before hoping to catch up to Spotify’s usage digits, which also include 295 million ad-supported monthly active users (up from 273 million in Q3 2022) and a grand total of 489 (!!!) million Q4 2022 MAUs, representing a massive increase from 456 million the previous quarter and 406 million in Q4 2021.
    It’s equally true that Apple is very clearly prioritizing the profitability of its “Services” division as a whole over the subscriber growth of each individual platform, while Spotify continues to bleed money as it brings in more and more listeners.
    We’re talking a €231 million ($250 million) operating loss for the Sweden-based company behind the world’s most popular audio streaming product between October and December 2022 alone, and although things like “higher personnel costs” and “higher advertising costs” are blamed for this latest financial deficit, the truth is Spotify last posted a quarterly profit all the way back in 2019.
    Looking ahead to the near future, Spotify doesn’t expect its financials to bounce back all of a sudden despite predicting another boost to 207 million premium subscribers and, yes, half a billion total monthly active users. Now that’s a number for the ages!
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  • Apple Music Rewind 2023 is available for those subs who can’t help but track everything

    Apple Music Rewind 2023 is available for those subs who can’t help but track everything

    Apple Rewind. Like Spotify Wrapped, right? No, not really. Spotify keeps things under wraps and surprises you with stats at the end of the year, while Apple Rewind is a feature that lets you check what you are listening to most at all times.

    Redundant, since you’d be doing it in real time, but hey — remember that you can do it for the entire year! As in, if you feel like checking your playlist history from months ago, through this feature you can do that, so it’s not that surface level.

    And if that got you interested in checking it out, you can do that right now. Apple Rewind for 2023 is live now, and it allows you to check what you expect: top songs, albums, artists and so forth. But it also starts automatically drafting you a playlist with your most played songs of the year, which is always neat.

    If you want to check out your own playlist, you can open your Apple Music app under the Listen Now tab. At the very bottom, you should be able to see all of the yearly playlist that the service has drafted for you, ever since you were a subscriber and as far back as 2015, when Apple Music initially launched.

    At the end of the year, however, Apple will give you a quick hit of dopamine and release a more in-depth overview of your musical journey. If you’d like to follow how the entire process is going, you can check back with the website every Monday, as usually the data is refreshed every Sunday.

    You’ve had to have reached a certain threshold of listening activity in order for the feature to kick in for your account. In other words: If you aren’t seeing anything by next Monday, you might want to add “Listen to more music” to your list of goals to achieve in 2023.

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  • YouTube Music partially down on the web and all mobile devices

    YouTube Music partially down on the web and all mobile devices

    YouTube Music is experiencing a partial outage affecting the home page and loading many listeners’ playlists and library. The issue was discovered around 1:50PM PST today and is happening across all devices, including the web.
    The official Team YouTube account tweeted the issue after reports of the outage started flooding in. When opening the app, the Library and Explore tabs appear empty, as if nothing was ever added to them.
    Additionally, artists pages and albums fail to load and cover art appears to be missing. The issue was also reported and is being documented via the YouTube Music Help page where Team YouTube has confirmed that the Music team is actively working to resolve the issue.
    One workaround that the team has offered is to access your playlists from youtube.com, which is working at the moment without issues.
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  • YouTube introduces a new feature to battle abusive comments

    YouTube introduces a new feature to battle abusive comments

    While browsing YouTube’s comment section, you might find some offensive comments. And to battle spammers and users using abusive language, the platform has improved its spam detection and bot detection in live chats and added a new feature

    In a new blog post, YouTube announced that its new feature notifies users when the platform has detected and removed some of their comments for violating its Community Guidelines. Furthermore, if a user doesn’t stop their offensive behavior, they may receive a “timeout,” which makes them unable to post comments for up to 24 hours. YouTube shared that its tests have shown that these warnings and temporal restrictions reduce the possibility of users writing abusive comments again.

    At the moment, the notification is only available for comments written in English, but YouTube hopes to expand it to more languages in the coming months. As the platform stated, its goal is to protect creators from users with ill intent and to offer more transparency to people whose comments have been removed for violating the platform’s Community Guidelines. Of course, since algorithms could also make a mistake, YouTube’s team encourages users who receive such warnings to give feedback. This will help it further improve its systems.

    Meanwhile, it looks like YouTube is working on another new feature, but this time with the intent to make the watching experience more pleasant. The platform is currently testing an Add to queue function for its Android and iOS apps.

    If you watch YouTube on your computer, you are probably familiar with the Add to queue option. This enables you to create a temporary playlist (known as a queue) that will play the added videos one after another. This is great if you are browsing YouTube and find something you want to watch after you finish the video you are watching right now.

    On Android and iOS, we don’t have this option. We only have “Save to Watch Later” and “Save to Playlist.” Both create queues, yes, but save them as permanent playlists in our libraries.

    When YouTube launches the Add to queue feature on Android and iOS, you will be able to add a video to your queue by just tapping the clip’s three-dot menu and selecting “Play last in queue.” After you choose the option, the app will create a watchlist at the bottom. In the newly created panel, you will be able to rearrange the viewing order by dragging the videos, and by swiping left, you will be able to remove them from the temporary playlist. You will also have the ability to repeat and shuffle playback.

    We must note, however, that at the moment, only Premium users have access to the test of the Add to queue option. Furthermore, it appears that YouTube advertises this function as a “Premium feature,” implying that it will most likely be available only to Premium users once the platform launches it.

    If you are a YouTube Premium subscriber and want to test the Add to queue option yourself, you can do that until January 28th. To sign up for the test, tap your profile button in the top-right corner, press Settings, and tap on Try new features. After that, you just need to wait for the app to load the new function.

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  • Spotify introduces new billing choice for Android users

    Spotify introduces new billing choice for Android users

    Spotify and Google announced over the weekend they have partnered to offer customers using Android devices a new purchase experience. The new feature was unveiled in March but wasn’t released immediately. After months of working to build the so-called User Choice Billing (UCB), the feature is now rolling out to Android users.

    With the new User Choice Billing feature, Spotify users will be able to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option they want. Starting this week, UCB is making its way to Spotify subscribers in select markets around the world. Although Spotify did not mention where exactly the feature should be available in the next few days, it did confirm that it will expand the test to more markets in the coming weeks.

    Spotify is one of the first companies to implement UCB with Google. First tested with Google Play, the new feature is meant to provide users and developers more flexibility and choice when it comes to purchasing and selling products.

    Google Play’s user choice billing was initially introduced in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area, and later on expanded to the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. We can’t confirm if Spotify targets the same regions, but at least some of these countries should have the new user billing choice available.

    Bumble and Spotify are the first companies to partner with Google to provide their customers with new user choice billing, but more names might pop up in the coming months if the new feature proves successful.

    That said, if you’re living in one of the select markets where Spotify introduced the new feature, and you’re using an Android device, you should soon be able to choose how to pay for your Spotify subscription. If you’re using an iOS device, you’ll probably never benefit from this option, or at least not anytime soon.

  • Netflix to charge extra fees for extra users in 2023

    Netflix to charge extra fees for extra users in 2023

    The latest development in Netflix’s plans to dissuade account sharing has surfaced via a quarterly earnings letter. It reveals extra charges for each separate user on the account of the owner, that isn’t from the same household, starting 2023.

    While the final rates have not been officially announced, what we can infer from the document is that the charge will be up to a quarter of the initial basic rate. That would result in about a $3-4 charge per user outside of the household.

    Netflix began its crackdown on unauthorized account sharing earlier this year. What started with tests of account verification in the style of 2FA (2-factor authentication) and device count limitations ended with the creative workarounds as provided by the Internet.

    The tests had caught the attention of many users online, some of whom even shared their plans on how to circumvent the possible limitations via tricks as simple as “I’ll just text them the verification code”, while others provided their own take on solutions that Netflix should adopt.

    We can’t say if the Internet’s reaction had an impact on the decision, it was clear that a change of plans was needed. After all, Netflix’s estimated loss from account sharing is around the $6 billion mark, as per Citi analyst Jason Bazinet. From Netflix’s point of view, that is a sum that should flow in naturally from actual user subscriptions.

    While that does seem fair, let’s check in with Netflix’s competition:

    • HBO Max doesn’t have any limitations
    • Disney Plus limits the amount of devices connected to the account
    • Amazon Prime Video requires users of shared accounts to be within the same country or region

    How these will measure up against Netflix’s decision will become clear once we truly find out how the term “household” is defined and when the penalty is live.

    Netflix is still the major player on the market with over 220 million active users. Now, imagine if account sharing would cease? Those numbers would jump significantly, with a doubtless positive business effect, given Netflix’s recent financial troubles.

    It’s worth pointing out that the company is also making it easier to detach your profile from a shared account. Earlier this month, Netflix announced a profile migration tool, which allows users to keep their settings when creating their own subscription.

    Also, set to release in November, is a cheaper, ad-supported plan for $6.99. All of these announcements point to Netflix trying to gently nudge users into creating separate accounts, instead of sharing.

    Regardless of financial reports or planned actions, at the end of the day, Netflix are the trendmakers of the video streaming scene. Their actions are sure to stir up the market and it would be interesting to see how competitors react to Netflix’s decision.

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