If you pay for Netflix but don’t actually use the streaming service, you should probably cancel your subscription. After all, that’s several dollars leaving your account each month for nothing. Just like a gym membership for people who no longer work out.
However, even if you don’t cancel your own Netflix you may have it cancelled for you. This is because Netflix has announced it’s going to start cancelling inactive accounts automatically in order to stop people spending money on something they don’t use.
Netflix Cancels Inactive Accounts
In a post on the Netflix Media Center, Netflix announced that it’s going to automatically cancel the subscriptions of people not using their accounts. Inactive accounts represent “less than half of one percent” of its userbase, or “a few hundred thousand”.
Netflix considers an account inactive if it hasn’t been used for two years. Or, if you’re a newer subscriber, for one year since signing up. And anyone with an inactive account will be asked to confirm that they want to keep their membership.
“You know that sinking feeling when you realize you signed up for something but haven’t used it in ages? At Netflix, the last thing we want is people paying for something they’re not using…”
— Eddy Wu, Product Innovation at Netflix
This will be done by email and in-app notifications, which will begin appearing this week. If you see one you’ll need to confirm that you want to keep your Netflix subscription or Netflix will automatically cancel it. Saving you a few dollars each month.
Netflix insists that it’s easy for lapsed users who have their memberships cancelled to restart them again. And the company will be happy to have you back. If you rejoin within 10 months of cancelling, your profile and watchlist will still be as you left them.
How to Renew Your Love for Netflix
We’re big fans of Netflix here at MakeUseOf. So, the notion that you can’t find anything to watch on Netflix is beyond us. Still, maybe you’ve got better things to do than binge-watch endless TV. In which case, Netflix is doing you a massive favor here.
However, if the threat of Netflix cancelling your account makes you want to take a fresh look at the streaming service, check out our exhaustive guide to Netflix. It contains tips and tricks, tutorials and troubleshooting, and recommendations of what to watch.
Read the full article: Netflix Will Now Cancel Your Account Unless You Use It
