Most Americans Share Subscription Account Passwords, But Not The Bill

When it comes to subscription services, a new report has found just how much Americans love to share their streaming, shopping, Uber and mobile subscription accounts with family, friends and even exes.

The latest Country Financial Security Index, which surveyed around 1,000 US adults, revealed that over half (54 percent) are using some type of streaming, ride-hailing, home sharing or maintenance service. In addition, more than half (59 percent) take advantage of these services at least once a week, while one quarter (25 percent) use them every single day.

And when it comes to account sharing, television leads the pack, with 74 percent of TV service subscribers sharing their Netflix, Hulu and Amazon accounts with others. Four in ten (42 percent) are sharing mobile plans and 41 percent are sharing shopping accounts like Amazon Prime and Costco.

As for who is gaining access to these accounts, family (73 percent), significant others (34 percent), friends (10 percent) and ex-significant others (2 percent) make up the sharing pool. Women are more likely than men to share their accounts with family (79 percent vs. 66 percent), and men are more likely to share with an ex-significant other (3 percent vs. 0 percent).

But while they’re sharing their account info, Americans are not splitting the bill. In fact, more than a third of users who share their accounts aren’t sharing the monthly costs.

“Be careful that you’re not the person holding the bag,” said Doyle Williams, the executive vice president at Country Financial, according to CNBC.

In addition, sharing is also costing the companies that put out content big money. In August, a report found that younger users who are sharing their passwords to streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are costing these companies millions of dollars in revenue each year. In fact, a recent financial report shows that Hulu loses around $1.5 billion a year.

But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in 2016 that password sharing “hasn’t been a problem,” while in 2014 HBO CEO Richard Plepler said, “It’s not that we’re ignoring it, and we’re looking at different ways to affect password sharing. I’m simply telling you: It’s not a fundamental problem.”