The End of Netflix Password Sharing Is Nigh

The end of password sharing is coming to Netflix soon—and it will be a challenge for both viewers and the streaming giant.

The company has put off this moment for years. Researchers inside Netflix Inc. identified password sharing as a major problem eating into subscriptions in 2019, people familiar with the situation say, but the company was worried about how to address it without alienating consumers. Then Covid lockdowns hit, bringing a wave of new subscribers, and the effort to scrutinize sharing petered out.