Technologies

How Netflix Can Calm the Password-Sharing Outcry

Commentary: We have a quick solution for Netflix’s password sharing woes…

Your mom lives in Ohio. You live in New York but you share a Netflix account. The same is true for the family whose kids are in college and for the couple living apart while one’s stationed on a military base overseas.

I see your stories. I feel you. I’ve been in the same boat.

People are not happy about Netflix’s move to start charging members extra fees to share accounts. The company’s been called out for a 5-year-old tweet: «Love is sharing a password.»

Even the card game Uno joined the Twitter roast to point out the about-face. Swarms of vocal Netflix subscribers are venting on social media — Netflix’s comment sections are really feeling the burn — and vowing to cancel their accounts and questioning why they’re paying for multiple screens.

Netflix has dubbed viewers outside of the primary household as extra members, or subaccounts. In Canada, where the prices are $16.50 for a standard plan and $21 for premium, the cost of adding an extra member is $8 per person. If a single streaming service costing $30 a month to stream on two or four screens sounds like a lot to you, I agree.

In the US, we still don’t know how much it’ll cost each month for extra members. When Netflix finally decides to tell us, I think it should also announce a couple of smart discounts.

Netflix needs a cheaper plan for students

Among those who are unhappy about the new policy are parents and their college kids. If Netflix insists on charging for password sharing, I think it should offer a no-frills student subscription.

College kids love to stream, and they’re often doing it on their parents’ accounts. Not as freeloaders, but as members of the household — even if their school is five states away. When we drop our 17- or 18-year-olds off at college, I bet no one is saying, «Time for me to kick you off Netflix, ya mooch.»

Rather than blocking kids who are attending school far from home, Netflix should offer a student plan that’s priced lower than its basic ad-supported subscription. Hulu, Paramount Plus and Spotify do it, proving that a blueprint exists.

All three platforms use SheerID to verify eligibility for college and university students. Hulu charges eligible students $2 a month for its ad-based plan. Spotify’s Premium Student subscription is $5 per month with the first month free and the added perk of free access to Showtime and Hulu with ads. Paramount Plus provides a 25% discount on its Essential plan for college students that lasts for four years, even if they graduate early.

If Netflix followed suit, it could find the sweet spot between $2 and $5 a month to help a broke college kid out. The company rolled out its $7 ad-based tier in January, joining the ranks of Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock and others who conquered that frontier. Adding a new subscription option aimed at students is reasonably within Netflix’s capabilities. If the streamer wants to keep its subscriber numbers up, why not?

Members of the military should get a discount too

Along with students who spend months — or years — away from home are service members. It’s common for a loved one to be stationed abroad while sharing a single Netflix account with family in their home country or state. Rather than geo-blocking them, or tagging on account-sharing fees, why not offer a military rate for active-duty members? It’s something that streaming services like Disney Plus, Apple TV and Discovery Plus offer for customers.

Why is Netflix charging fees for subaccounts?

For Netflix, everyone has to pay to hit play, specifically if you’re not living under the same roof. From a business perspective, the company wants to tap into opportunities to make money on shared accounts. Meant to fund content creation and overall operations, it was discussed during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in 2022. «Another focus is how best to monetize sharing — the 100M+ households using another household’s account,» the streamer wrote in its letter to shareholders. According to Netflix, more than 30 million of those who believe sharing is caring live in the US and Canada.

The extra costs are currently active in countries including Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Portugal. In some regions, the added fees also come with added steps, like verifying your device is connected to your primary location or sending invites to extra members to use your account.

I like Netflix, but none of the other major streamers is doing this. And as Fox 9 TV host Jason Matheson points out, it’s mighty inconvenient.

Netflix could lose out to the competition

With such a crowded streaming service market, every price hike, add-on fee and inconvenience can make one platform less of a necessity. Netflix is aware that though it was a pioneer in this space, there are rivals that want to be on top. Long ago, it edged out Blockbuster, showing how a business model can make or break a company’s survival.

Let’s not forget that content availability plays a huge role too, because if there’s nothing to watch to justify the monthly rate you’re paying, it’s time to drop something. We rotate our streaming services to save money or if we’ve run out of stuff to stream. If the extra cost is too high, especially in the US, Netflix should expect customers to churn for months at a time. That’s not to say services like HBO Max and Disney Plus are immune to being dropped, because they’ve had to contend with frustrated customers over price increases and show cancellations too.

However, the cost of password-sharing fees may be too high. Only time will tell if this new setup is worth it to Netflix, but it’s going to be an uphill battle to get customers around the world on board. One discount plan could help cushion the blow.

Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.

See at Netflix

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___-Carlton (hotel chain)
Answer: RITZ

5A clue: Span of the alphabet
Answer: ATOZ

6A clue: Cable channel with an out-of-this-world name
Answer: STARZ

7A clue: Takes care of, as a squeaky wheel
Answer: OILS

8A clue: Toy on a string
Answer: YOYO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: When a post receives far more negative comments than likes, in social media slang
Answer: RATIO

2D clue: World’s leading wine producer
Answer: ITALY

3D clue: Middle of the human body
Answer: TORSO

4D clue: Sleeping sound
Answer: ZZZ

6D clue: Tofu base
Answer: SOY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.