Who Gets the Netflix Account in a Split?

Netflix makes it really easy to have multiple profiles in one account. Even when living with your significant other, or house sharing with a friend you can have your own profile on one account. In doing so you save money by sharing the costs for one account.

You’ve collected months, if not years, worth of watching data against your profile and you never have to remember which series you’ve enjoyed or which episode you’re on as Netflix will remember it all for you. So what happens when you split up with your Netflix partner?

Shared Netflix Accounts

Netflix (after having to deal with the rigidity of DSTV) seemed like a breath of fresh air to South Africans.

You could

• Access your account from anywhere and weren’t restricted to only watching it in your house.
• Watch what you want on demand - no having to wait for scheduled times, or having to record it in advance for later viewing.
• Pay a far lower monthly fee, get the latest series and movies AND have no ads breaking up your viewing pleasure.
• Have up to 3 profiles on one account.

The latter is what really made Netflix a game-changer for anyone sharing an account. Whether a significant other or friend, you could have your own profile with your personalised streaming history.

Good News for Netflix Shared Accounts

For a long time Netflix and other digital watch on demand platforms did not think about these kinds of scenarios. For the most part you would need to sign-up for a brand new account and start over, or fight for the existing account. Typically the person in whose name the account was would win ownership.

The good news for Netflix shared accounts is that Netflix is one of a few digital channels that realised that things happen in relationships and life. They’ve now built in a feature to “transfer a profile” to a new account. So if life takes a different turn at least your Netflix profile will be one of the constants - even if you’re not the primary account holder.

The transfer will allow you to:

• Transfer recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, settings and more
• Own your account and keep everything you love about your profile
• A backup copy of the profile will remain in the original account
• *The backup copy will not include saved games.

How to transfer your netflix profile:

Transferring your Netflix profile is really easy.

• Sign in to the account where you have your profile
• Go to the main menu by clicking on your profile icon
• Select “transfer profile” and follow the steps

Emigration and Netflix

Unfortunately at the time of publishing this article Netflix still does not allow you to transfer your profile to a new territory or currency. However the new transfer function is also great news for anyone that would like to change territories. You can transfer your profile to a new account created in the territory and currency you require while saving your history. The only downside is that not all programs are available across all territories, so something that may have been available in your existing territory might not be available in the new territory.

We think this is ridiculous, but understand that it could be due to a copyright restriction in certain countries. Hopefully this feature will also be a moot point one day as more digital platforms realise the world is no longer really separated by country borders.

Need a new fibre ISP subscription too? Fibre Tiger can make that transfer process easy too. Sign-up or switch your ISP easily here.