Netflix has announced a 'Profile Transfer' feature to prevent password sharing. The streamer said on Monday that the new feature has been rolled out to all members globally. The "much requested" feature allows users to transfer their personalised recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other preferences to a new account when they start their own membership, said the company.
The users will receive a notification through email, as soon as the 'Profile Transfer' becomes accessible on their account.
"People move. Families grow. Relationships end. But throughout these life changes, your Netflix experience should stay the same," said Netflix Product Manager Timi Kosztin as the new feature is announced. "We’re launching Profile Transfer, a feature that lets people using your account transfer a profile — keeping the personalized recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings — when they start their own membership."
Meanwhile, in a bid to introduce an ad-supported tier for its users, the company had announced that it will roll out the 'Basic With Ads' streaming plan on November 3 in several countries.
"The plan represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers — the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don't watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ads experience," Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer, said in a statement.
At launch, ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length, which will play before and during shows and films.
Netflix is calling its new ad-supported plan Basic with Ads, and it is rolling out next month, specifically on November 1 in countries including Canada and on November 3, in the US and the UK. To compare, the upcoming ad-supported plan's cost is $6.99 for the “Basic with Ads” plan and it costs $3 less than Netflix’s lowest-priced tier that does not have advertisements.
"In short, Basic with Ads is everything people love about Netflix, at a lower price, with a few ads in-between. Starting in November, signing up will be easy — visit Netflix.com, and register with your email, date of birth, and gender to get started," the company said in a statement.
Netflix will roll out the ad-supported plan in 12 countries over 10 days, including the US, Germany, Japan, Brazil and Korea. At launch, the ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length and will play before and during shows and films. Video quality will be offered at up to 720p/HD for both Netflix's Basic with Ads and Basic plans.
The length of the ads will be an average of 4-5 minutes of ads per hour and a limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions, which Netlfix is working on and there will be no ability to download titles, the company said.
"Advertisers will also be able to prevent their ads from appearing on content that might be inconsistent with their brand," the company said.
(With inputs from IANS)