Netflix US Extra Member fee for password-sharers is surprisingly high

Netflix has finally explained how it intends to combat password-sharing in the United States. And its Extra Member plan is more expensive than expected.

In a blog post today, Netflix says it is emailing members in the US who it says are currently sharing their accounts outside their households.

Within the email, the company is offering uses the option to check who is using the account, and to sign out any devices that they don’t want to have access. They will also be able to transfer a profile so that freeloader/account sharer can set up their own new membership.

The final option is to “buy an extra member” which means you will be paying $7.99 a month more for the person who doesn’t live you. That figure is quite a lot higher than it is in other areas of the world where Netflix has been testing the option.

Users in those nations have only been kicking up the equivalent of $3 a month to add members to their account. When Netflix rolls out the feature in the UK (and that’s definitely in the post) it’s much more likely to be much closer to the US amount.

The wording of Netflix’s email suggests account holders will only be able to add one member, so the parents might have to chose their favourite child after they move out. Here’s the email Netflix is sending out today:

“A Netflix account is for use by one household. Everyone living in that household can use Netflix wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday — and take advantage of new features like Transfer Profile and Manage Access and Devices,” the company says in the blog post.

“We recognise that our members have many entertainment choices. It’s why we continue to invest heavily in a wide variety of new films and TV shows — so whatever your taste, mood or language and whoever you’re watching with, there’s always something satisfying to watch on Netflix.”

Netflix is yet to introduce this scheme to the UK, but we’ll keep you posted.