Netflix is cracking down on users who steal from their family, friends and ex: this summer, the streamer will begin implementing an “extra house” fee for those who use the same account with people they don’t live with.
The small fee, which is about $2 or $3, will initially take effect August 22 in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. “If your Netflix account is being used on a TV outside your home, you will need to pay an extra $2.99 per month for each extra home. You will only be charged when you or someone using your account chooses to add an extra home – this fee will NOT be charged automatically,” Netflix wrote on its Honduras pricing page.
After a trial period in the aforementioned countries, Netflix will begin implementing the domestic surcharge worldwide. Subscribers will have the option to add one, two or three extra homes, depending on the plan, with prices ranging from $9.99 to $19.99 in the US. If you’re using a TV away from home for a limited time – say, while traveling – you’ll still have a two-week window where you can use Netflix at no extra cost, as long as you haven’t used that location.
This news follows Netflix’s announcement earlier this year that it would introduce a fee for sharing passwords between families, though there wouldn’t be much of a penalty if that fee isn’t paid. With this new fee, however, the added TV will be blocked if the fee is not paid. Netflix did not clarify whether it will standardize to a one-time fee, offer users a choice between extra home and extra member fees, or introduce some other option in efforts to combat the rapid decline in subscriber numbers.
If you’re on a tighter budget, Netflix has recently started offering a cheaper, ad-supported tier; unfortunately, it also comes with a smaller and worse catalogue.
