23% of people who borrow someone else’s streaming login use their ex’s account

You may have heard about Netflix’s plan to monetize password sharing by forcing people to pay up if they want to add new profiles to their subscriptions. How big of an issue is password sharing? FandomSpot.com has the answer.

The self-proclaimed home for “all the best fandoms in one spot” conducted a survey of 5,000 SVOD consumers in hopes of uncovering their password-sharing secrets. The survey revealed that the average streaming account is shared by five people. 70% of consumers who use someone else’s account borrow from a friend, family member, or partner. Another 23% are still hanging onto the accounts of their ex-partners, while 4% use a password provided by their employer 

The most common purpose for using someone else’s account is to save money. 37% of respondents who don’t pay for their own profiles said they have never purchased a streaming subscription, while 65% of people who are still on their exes’ accounts stay logged in for financial reasons. That’s a much higher percentage than the portion of people who keep using their exes’ accounts out of spite (11%).

Though the scrimpers and savers will no doubt rebel against Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing, the results of the FandomSpot.com study suggest that the majority current-day freeloaders would be willing to pay up in order to retain access to their favorite shows and movies. 74% of them reported that they would purchase a subscription if required to do so.

The other factor that will help Netflix monetize password sharing is the sharers themselves. 20% of people who let others use their streaming logins have issues with other people logging into their accounts. The report indicates that most people who have issues are concerned about their own account access being restricted. Another 12% of respondents said they have changed an account password to stop an ex from using it.

“Our findings show that although there are new features, it seems that if people can share their accounts with others, then they will,” said Alyssa Celatti of FandomSpot.com in a statement. “It was also interesting to learn how many people admit to using an ex’s account – and rather amusing to learn that people take a lot of pleasure in changing the passwords to stop an ex from logging in and watching their favorite shows!”

For more data and insights, check out the full report on FandomSpot.com.