Profile Transfer: Netflix’s new solution to address password-sharing issue

After launching its ad-supported subscription plan, Netflix is now introducing a new feature called Profile Transfer.

“People move. Families grow. Relationships end. But throughout these life changes, your Netflix experience should stay the same,” Netflix Product Manager and Product Innovation Timi Kosztin introduced the feature. “No matter what’s going on, let your Netflix profile be a constant in a life full of changes so you can sit back, relax and continue watching right from where you left off.”

Netflix’s motive for introducing Profile Transfer, of course, isn’t just plainly about making it easier for you to retrieve your profile in case your girlfriend breaks up with you or when your family disowns you. It’s about addressing its password-sharing issue, which is reportedly happening to over 100 million households. Apparently, it affected the company’s revenue and overall growth in the past few months.

Earlier this year, the company reported losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and then nearly a million in the second quarter. The company said that different reasons led to this decline and the slow growth of its subscriber population, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, competition, the pandemic, and password sharing. Of all the points mentioned, the company probably realized that the latter is just the only point within its control, resulting in Profile Transfer.

The feature was first tested in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, wherein users were offered to add “sub-accounts” to their subscriptions. These sub-accounts primarily functioned as the profiles that paying customers could lend to their families and friends, which they could then decide to separate from the original account in the future. The sub-account would then carry all saved data to the newly established subscriber account with its own billing info.

The same thing would happen now in Profile Transfer, as it will allow you to move your Netflix data accumulated from an account being shared to a new independent account. It includes your personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and personal settings.

Netflix said that Profile Transfer is now rolling out globally, which means you should get an email notification informing you of the change. The new feature can be accessed through the dropdown menu when you hover over your profile icon at the top-right section of the screen. Clicking it will transfer you to a page where you’ll be asked to create your own membership. Netflix notes that it will leave a backup copy of the profile on the original account but will not include saved games.