Breaking: Netflix Now Allows Profile Transfers Between Existing Accounts as Password-Sharing Rules Expand
Things continue to change over at the world’s largest streamer as Netflix’s new password-sharing rules begin to take full effect in markets around the globe after being introduced en masse in late-May. Last fall, as the streaming giant was in the midst of testing out its new rules, it introduced a feature that would allow users to transfer their profile data from an existing account to a newly created one. This move was made in order to allow users who had been using the service via someone not in their household’s credentials the ability to keep all of their profile data intact when they decided to opt for an account of their own.
On Tuesday, the company announced that it was expanding the reach of the feature as it is now available not only to individuals who create new accounts but also to those who move from one existing account to another. Netflix updated its original posting about the feature on Tuesday, July 11 stating, “Starting today, the profile transfer feature has been updated to allow transfers to an existing account (instead of requiring a new account).”
This change will give users additional flexibility as they face the end of using a friend or family member’s account. While they will still be able to port their data to an account of their own, they will also be able to move their profile data — including their watch history, personalized recommendations, My List info, mobile game progress, and other settings — to another already established account.
For example, if an individual had been using their own profile on their parents’ account for years, but has since graduated college and perhaps gotten married, it would be conceivable that they would want to keep their existing profile on their parents’ account, either out of habit or an effort to retain all of the information that had been built up in the profile over the years. But, since they do not live in the same household as their parents anymore, eventually, they would be informed that they no longer have access to that original account.
Previously, they would not have been able to transfer the profile to their partner’s existing account, even though they live in the same home. However, now they can, removing a pain point for users as they work around the new password-sharing rules.
For a company that had long promoted password-sharing as a feature of its service, rather than a bug to be done away with, Netflix is undoubtedly having to figure out new best practices to keep customers who had grown accustomed to watching on someone else’s dime.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.