Netflix confirms it will start charging users to share an account with others outside their home

Attention Netflix password sharers: Your days of giving free access to your account to someone outside your home are numbered.

The streaming platform announced Wednesday it would begin charging subscribers in a handful of countries to add up to two additional users who don’t live in the same household to their account.

For now, the option of buying extra subscriptions is being rolled out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.

And the sharing plans are only available to members using Standard ($15.49 a month) and Premium ($19.99 a month) subscriptions.

The official announcement confirms recent reports surfaced by users that Netflix was ready to impose the new sharing rules.

In its latest release, Netflix reiterated a previous estimate that more than 100 million households have shared their accounts with others, something the company said is ‘impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films.’

The company said the new sharing restrictions would not impact users’ ability to watch on a new or separate device they have access to, like a TV at a hotel or a vacation rental. 

But the company’s message about restricting sharing is clear.

‘A Netflix account is intended for one household,’ it says.