Netflix gains nearly 6 million subscribers after imposing password password sharing crackdown. Details here

Streaming giant Netflix announced on Wednesday that its crackdown on password sharing has been a huge success, resulting in an additional 5.9 billion subscribers. Netflix ended June with 238.4 million subscribers worldwide, and the company expects similar subscriber growth for the July-September period.

The nearly 6 million subscriber jump is Netflix's best second-quarter performance since adding 10 million subscribers in 2020, under drastically different circumstances.

Also Read: Netflix restricts password sharing model in India. Details here

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix management noted that the crackdown on password sharing is resulting in a "healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships".

Netflix has also announced that the crackdown on password sharing will now be extended to all markets worldwide, including Kenya, Indonesia and India. In an official statement on Wednesday, Netflix announced that the password sharing crackdown will now apply to India, and emphasised that Netflix accounts are meant to be used exclusively within a single household.

The statement by Netflix read, “Starting today, we will be sending this email to members who are sharing Netflix outside their household in India,” Netflix said in an official statement.

Netflix had introduced a lower-priced ad-supported streaming plan and then began blocking the sharing of passwords which is estimated to allow around 100 million people to watch its content for free.

Also Read: Netflix removes basic ad-free plan in US and UK

The crackdown on password sharing began last year and was later extended to many other countries, including the US. The crackdown has forced users who share an account outside the same household to pay an additional fee, which in turn has prompted droves of users to sign up for the cheaper basic advertising tier.

The new announcement from the video streaming platform comes as the company has quietly removed its $9.99/month basic plan in the US and UK in a bid to push users towards its ad-supported tier or premium plans and boost revenues.