Netflix CEO Explains Why He Doesn't Share His Account Password

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos has revealed why he doesn’t share his password with his family members – and it’s not because he’s a cheapskate. 

Sarandos, who is co-CEO of the streaming platform, revealed the reason why he refuses to share his details with his nearest and dearest while speaking to Variety at the Oscars last month. 

When asked how many family members he shares his Netflix password with, Sarandos laughed and said: “Zero. They all have their own and they all pay. 

“They don’t want my picks, they want their own picks.” Which is fair enough, but clearly Sarandos has never enjoyed the chaos of letting his young niece use his account and then having PAW Patrol recommended to him for the rest of his life. 

Last month, Netflix announced it was trialling two new features which would crack down on password sharing - or as the company put it, to avoid the 'confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared'.

The two options are: 'Add an extra member', and 'Transfer Profile to a New Account'.

In the statement, Netflix said: "Members on our Standard and Premium plans will be able to add sub accounts for up to two people they don’t live with – each with their own profile, personalised recommendations, login and password – at a lower price: 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru.

"Members on our Basic, Standard, and Premium plans can enable people who share their account to transfer profile information either to a new account or an Extra Member sub account – keeping the viewing history, My List, and personalised recommendations.

"We recognise that people have many entertainment choices, so we want to ensure any new features are flexible and useful for members, whose subscriptions fund all our great TV and films.

"We’ll be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world."

Speaking all the way back in 2016, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings said ‘password sharing is something you have to learn to live with’ as there were so many people who were legitimately sharing passwords – such as a parent telling their child or someone telling their other half.