Share your Netflix password with friends or family? Well, prepare for pain

For those who have got used to sharing their Netflix account with friends or family who live in other households, there looks like bad news is coming down the line.

That's because it has been confirmed that Netflix is looking at introducing a new system that automatically detects if a password is shared outside of the registered account address and then asks for an extra payable fee to unlock the service.

Right now, as reported by Deadline, the plan is about to be tried out in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, where it will cost an extra couple of dollars to share a password.

This account sharing crackdown appears to be driven by the need for Netflix to keep producing new content, which is getting more expensive to do, as well as fend of rivals like Disney Plus and Paramount Plus who have been poaching their subscribers.

Right now, Netflix's most expensive subscription tier allows for four streams to be used at once, which means that theoretically the account owner could share their account with three other people/households without having their own viewing interrupted.

That practice, though, now seems to be facing the beginning of the end, with Netflix appearing to be moving to charge for such activity. These secondary accounts will be officially designated as "sub accounts" and cost the account holder extra money.

This news will no doubt be keenly felt by any account owner who has engaged in this practice, which is technically against Netflix's terms and conditions, as the service has recently increased its plan costs across the board in a new price hike.

Right now it is unknown when and if Netflix will roll out these new sub-accounts and fees in other territories, as well as what the fee will be in the USA and UK (we're guessing it will be $2.99 / £2.99 at T3.com). However, with Chengyi Long, Netflix's director of product innovation coming out and stating that, "accounts are being shared between households - impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members", we can't see this new plan for chargeable sub accounts being shelved.