When people stop getting something for free, they tend to get angry. That's why Netflix is warning its partners to expect a backlash ahead of the streaming service's password-sharing crackdown this summer.

Since its disastrous Q1 2022 earnings report, Netflix has been looking for ways to increase profitability and subscriber growth. One solution was to launch inexpensive ad-supported plans.

Another was a crackdown on password sharing. This is intended to "encourage" users to get their own accounts rather than exploit their moms; in April, Netflix estimated that more than 100 million households worldwide share accounts.

According to the Financial Times, Netflix has met with major UK telecoms companies that offer Netflix as part of bundled broadband and TV content deals, including Sky, BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk.

Subscribers to these telcos may be displeased when their Netflix accounts start charging fees to share with friends and family outside the household; Netflix has warned the companies that they "will be inundated with questions and complaints if the plan is implemented."

Netflix says it will launch "pay-to-share" in the second quarter of this year, or by the end of June. This new "feature" will encourage users to set up specific primary locations for their accounts. Users who wish to add additional households will have to pay an additional fee.

Paid sharing has already been introduced in Latin America, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, and Canada; Bloomberg reported that Netflix lost over 1 million subscribers in Spain after a crackdown on password sharing.

Netflix acknowledged the "cancellation reaction" to Paid Sharing in an April letter to shareholders. However, it stated that after the initial drop, Canadian subscribers began adding additional member accounts. Management assured investors that the results "reinforce our confidence that we are taking the right approach."

"As we roll out pay-as-you-go sharing, and as some borrowers stop watching because they do not convert to additional members or fully paid accounts, short-term engagement, as measured by third parties like Nielsen, will likely shrink modestly. But we believe the pattern will be similar to that seen in Latin America, and that engagement growth will resume over time as programs continue to improve and borrowers sign up for their accounts."

Pay-as-you-go sharing will be rolled out widely in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere over the next month.