Like many others, I share my streaming service passwords with friends and family. Though not officially endorsed by these platforms, I figure it’s harmless since my account allows multiple simultaneous streams anyway. The way I see it, if I’m paying for the service and have extra streams available, what’s the real harm in letting someone else benefit from that?

Maybe not. However, recently, Netflix raised its prices again, causing a bit of an outcry from subscribers online. And it got us to wondering: how many people are actually sharing their Netflix passwords?

Is it enough to affect the bottom line? And would putting an end to password sharing allow Netflix to forego any more price hikes?

And furthermore, are the price hikes enough to get subscribers to cancel their accounts, or will they just grin and bear it?

To help gain a better understanding, we commissioned a survey of Netflix subscribers. Here’s a look at some interesting information we found.

Table Of Contents

1 Key Findings
2 Price Going Up Is the Most Common Complaint Subscribers Have
3 Methodology

Key Findings

Most People Share Their Passwords with Someone Outside Their Home

Subscribers are most likely to share their passwords with relatives outside their immediate family

While some streaming services such as FuboTV have taken steps to only allow subscribers to share within their home network, Netflix hasn’t done much to address the issue.

During Netflix’s October 2019 Third-Quarter Earnings Interview, the company mentioned it would likely be doing something to push back against password sharing, but nothing ever transpired from it. Here’s a closer look at the results.

Response	Count	Percent
Yes, a friend	178	17.7
Yes, my child that doesn’t live at home	92	9.2
Yes, a family member not in my immediate family	257	25.6
No	476	47.5

About a third of Netflix Subscribers May Cancel Due to Price Hikes

But most subscribers say they will not cancel after their price went up

People obviously aren’t happy with their price going up, but this isn’t the first time. Perhaps it’s due to this conditioning, or maybe the still relatively low price point in comparison to cable, but the majority of subscribers plan on sticking with Netflix post-price raise.

A minority says they plan on scaling back their plan to a lesser tier. And 26% say they “may consider” canceling. However, only 6% gave a firm yes on cancellation.

Response	Count	Percent
Yes, I am definitely going to cancel soon	60	6.0
Maybe, I am considering canceling	258	25.7
I probably will downgrade to a lower subscription tier	138	13.8
No, I don’t plan on canceling	547	54.5

Price Going Up Is the Most Common Complaint Subscribers Have

But a lot of people are upset that Netflix is losing popular shows such as ‘The Office”

Not surprisingly, the biggest complaint subscribers have lines up with the most recent issue – price hikes. But it’s also interesting to note that subscribers are still worked up over the impending loss of The Office and similarly popular shows.

Interestingly enough, the least common chosen answer to the question was Netflix’s original programming being canceled.

Response	Count	Percent
The price going up	367	36.6
Netflix original shows I like being canceled	170	16.9
Netflix losing popular shows I like, such as The Office	283	28.2
I don’t really have any complaints with my Netflix service	183	18.2

Methodology

Data collection for this survey was performed by Mindnet Analytics.

Participant source: Amazon Mechanical Turk, only current paying Netflix subscribers fans. Sample size = 1,003. Responses collected 10/30/2020 – 11/2/2020.

Sample details: Only US participants. Only MTturk participants with a 95% or higher approval rating were permitted to take the survey. Participants were compensated at a rate at least equivalent to $15/hour. The fastest 2% of the original sample were excluded as they may have not been paying attention.

Confidence Level: 3% margin of error

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.