Netflix’s new password-sharing rules apparently rolled out in Canada this week, after the streaming service came back proposed changes for the United States—for now.
And Canadian TikTokers have filmed themselves canceling their subscriptions.
This new change – subscribers must sign in to Netflix through a “primary location” – is a great way for Netflix to continue lose subscribersand now we can see it happening in real time.
TikToker @beautiful.stormxo posted a video of their Netflix screen with the disclaimer: “A Netflix account is for people who live in the same place.”
“It’s finally happening,” she says in the video. “It’s my mom’s Netflix account, and she lives in a different province than mine.” Another TikToker showed a E-mail they got from Netflix, saying someone on your account can transfer their profile “to a new subscription they pay for”. You can also potentially “share Netflix with someone who lives in another location for $7.99/month,” according to the email.
“So, in other words, Netflix becomes the very thing they tried to hijack you from: cable companies,” one commenter said.
@beautiful.stormxo Welp, good thing I already invested in crave #netflix #netflixcanada ♬ original sound – Spooky.babixo
“To be fair to Netflix, the cancellation was super easy,” says @dan_of_innsmouth. Before that, he says he contacted Netflix’s help chat to see exactly what was going on, and it was confirmed that his daughter, who is in college, would no longer be allowed to use it. Peter, TikTok user stitched up Dan’s video reiterating that Netflix is slowly turning into a cable company and blamed “incompetent billionaires.”
@dan_of_innsmouth Farewell @netflix. I think your definition of #passwordsharing going to cost you a lot of long-term customers, but you know your business. #netflix ♬ The End – The Doors
Another TikToker filmed themselves canceling in real time, and under the section that asks why the subscriber is canceling, they put “you stumbleunder “Other”.
This change apparently surprised some Canadian subscribers who thought Netflix had waived the password rule. In a statement last week, a spokesperson said the new password information was released in error and was “only applicable in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.”
Netflix has been test the change in these countries since 2022, and it would have does not go well, mainly because Netflix’s messages regarding the change have not been clear. In addition to Canada, it is also now test it in New Zealand, Spain and Portugal.
We’ve reached out to Netflix for comment.
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*First published: February 10, 2023, 1:00 p.m. CST
Audra Schröder
Audra Schroeder is the Daily Dot’s Senior Entertainment Editor, and she focuses on streaming, comedy, and music. Her work has previously appeared in the Austin Chronicle, Dallas Observer, NPR, ESPN, Bitch and Village Voice. She is based in Austin, Texas.
