Netflix subscription

The intangibles you didn't even realize you had come to expect are disappearing.

The sense of community and affinity you get from “sharing” a Netflix account is a big part of why people use it instead of (or in addition to) Prime Video or HBO Max. The hardest part of that loss of soft goods is that you probably didn’t even realize you were relying on them in the first place. [presenting](https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-password-sharing-crackdown-us-mistake/) the situation as one in which the streaming service was cracking down on password sharing, making Netflix seem like a greedy scrooge accusing its customers of larceny. The feeling of delight (or hatred!) you find on Facebook or YouTube is why you use social media, not the information the platforms deliver. The idea of “paid sharing” feels a bit like charging extra for the hamburger box. Even though the [terms of service have long said](https://help.netflix.com/en/node/123277) that an account is supposed to be for people who live in one household, Netflix never seemed to mean it. Worse, the way Netflix is reframing “sharing” seems to imply that you might have been a cheat for ever getting that soft product in the first place; the new definition both highlights a feature you probably didn’t think about and scolds you for having taken advantage of it. Netflix had made sharing a part of its soft product: a tiny, subtle, intimate connection with the people you care about, all hate-watching Emily in Paris together. When Netflix (and all the other streaming services) started encouraging users to set up separate profiles, they created a new kind of group affinity. subscribers aren’t yet affected by the change, but Netflix has [implied](https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2022/q4/FINAL-Q4-22-Shareholder-Letter.pdf) that it’s coming everywhere, as the company looks for ways to boost revenue amid a [downturn](https://adage.com/article/media/streaming-tv-bracing-recession/2451306) affecting the whole streaming sector. In this context, sharing an account became a first-order social act, and one facilitated by Netflix’s soft product. [tested](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/update-to-paid-sharing) the idea in Latin America, and this month it [modified the policy and expanded](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/an-update-on-sharing) it into Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.