How and why to transfer the Netflix profile, before the squeeze on shared subscriptions

The pretext is the couple that breaks out, the separation, the roommates who move house. The underlying reason is obviously to work on the wide audience of whom illegally shares the access details to use the contents by dividing the cost of the subscription, or by giving it away. Netflix is ​​launching “Profile transfer” on a global scale, that is “Transfer profile”, A feature he has been testing for some time and which allows users to transfer their profile to a new account (which are paid for themselves, of course). By doing so, however, they will not lose the personalized suggestions, the history of the contents used, the settings and the saved games.

The quiet before the squeeze on sharing

According to the conditions of Netflix, common to those of most streaming platforms (how can we forget the continuous controversy about Dazn?), A single subscription can be used and shared in the same household: outside of it it is not possible to share it even if technically, at least so far, nothing has prevented it from doing so. And indeed some platforms have been created that favor and encourage this mechanism even with strangers. It will soon arrive a tighter grip than everwhich will also take into consideration the IP addresses from which you connect, and the option in question must also be framed from this point of view.

The new function of the platform – which from 3 November will launch the new € 5.49 economic plan with advertising – helps users to “move” to a brand new subscription – so in detail it is about exporting a profile to an account with a new e-mail address and new reference password – and to make sure that this move is quick and nothing is lost on the way. It seems the preparatory and indeed complementary step not only to the squeeze but also to another novelty: that of Homes. That is the possibility of paying a little extra to allow nuclei other than that of the owner to see Netflix in full legality: in this case a test started months ago in some Latin American countries. Until now, in fact, those who choose to subscribe to this spin-off linked to a main subscription lost in fact all the information that they can now carry with them thanks to “Transfer profile”.

The 100 million ghost users

The game seems minimal but for Netflix it is instead vital: they are esteemed in 100 million users who actually use the subscription without being entitled to it, at least according to the conditions of use of the US platform. Therefore they do not pay, in the sense that someone – who does not live with them – pay for them or informally share the expense with them. In short: where there could be two subscriptions, or at least one main and one cheaper coupled with the Housing formula, today there is only one. A phenomenon of illegality that involves significant financial losses and also a picture of subscribers who are unfaithful to the reality of the actual audience.

The Transfer of the profile will be notified progressively by e-mail to the holders of the subscriptions. It will be a fairly simple operation: it will be enough select the option from the menu that appears by passing or clicking on your profile icon present on the home page and indicate the new details, i.e. the new e-mail address and the new password. It will obviously remain possible to “lock” the profile, ie to disable any possibility of transfer.