Uh oh. The time is finally upon us - Netflix has officially started charging users for password sharing. All good things must come to an end eventually, I guess.
We already knew that this was coming - it was announced a couple of weeks ago to understandably negative reception. It's basically a whole new element to the pricing structure - people who are on your plan but live outside your household need to be added as an "extra member", albeit at a lower price than your usual subscription cost. Despite the backlash that came after the announcement, this change is now live in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.
These changes to Netflix come despite the service losing a whole load of popular Marvel content to Disney+, including Daredevil. Check out the trailer for the final season below.
As of now, this change is being limited to these three countries while it's tested and Netflix works "to understand the utility" of it, before it's rolled out anywhere else in the world. However, it definitely sounds like it's a matter of "when" not "if", so make the most of watching stuff for free on your friend's account while you can.
Just to make matters worse, a new price hike has also now gone live in the US. As reported by GameSpot, many members have reported getting emails about their bill going up on their next payment, and some might be paying the inflated cost already.
This change was announced back in January to, again, a lot of unhappy customers. The Basic plan is going from $9 per month to $10, Standard is rising from $14 a month to $15.50, and Premium (which is the only one offering 4K viewing) is increasing from $18 per month to $20. Users should get an email about the price changes 30 days before they're hit with them, so you can cancel your subscription if you're not willing to pay the new cost.
I think it's safe to say absolutely no one will be happy about any of this. I mean, why would you be positive about paying more for the exact same service? And where would we be as a society without the camaraderie that comes with a cheeky password share? Lost, I tell you, lost.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix, Vladimir BrestTopics: TV and Film, Netflix