The Netflix login page displayed on a laptop screen and the Netflix logo displayed on a phone screen can be seen in this illustrative photo taken on January 2, 2023 in Krakow, Poland.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing is still in its infancy in the US, but it appears to be having the effect the streamer was looking for — a boost to its subscriber base.
Since alerting members to its new password-sharing policy in late May, Netflix has recorded its four highest number of U.S. subscribers since data provider Antenna began monitoring the service. According to Antenna’s report, Netflix saw nearly 100,000 daily logins over two days during that period.
On May 23, Netflix began sending out emails to members changing their sharing policy to only allow accounts to be shared within the same household.
“Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” the company said in an email since sent to its members.
Under the new policy, members have two choices for people who use their passwords outside of their home. You either transfer the profile to the person outside of their household so they can start a new membership that they pay for themselves, or the member pays an additional fee of $7.99 per month per person outside of their household.
Since the beginning of email adoption, Netflix’s average daily signups have reached 73,000, a 102% increase from the previous 60-day average, which Antenna said exceeded the surge in signups during the first lockdowns of the pandemic.
Continue reading: Netflix’s expected approach to sharing passwords is unsettling students
Streaming services like Netflix saw subscriber numbers surge in the early days of the pandemic when consumers were at home during lockdown. However, this subscriber growth slowed in the following years.
In 2022, Netflix subscriber growth began to stagnate and, like other media companies, began looking for ways to increase revenue. In addition to cracking down on password sharing, Netflix introduced a cheaper, ad-supported tier.
After reporting its first loss of subscribers in a decade last year, Netflix stock took a tumble. However, it has since recovered with the introduction of policies on password sharing and ad-supported streaming. The stock hit a 52-week high on Friday and is up more than 40% year-to-date.
The company said more than 100 million households share accounts — about 43% of its global user base — hampering its ability to invest in new content.
Netflix began rolling out password sharing guidelines to international markets earlier this year. It had postponed its crackdown on US password sharing from the first quarter to the second quarter.