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Netflix to cancel inactive subscriptions

It plans to cancel those subscriptions that have been inactive for a year or more than two years.

It's annoying when there's a debit each month for a service your subscribed to but do not use. No more, if you haven't used your Netflix account for a while.

In a blog post on May 21, 2020, Netflix said it will automatically cancel subscriptions of inactive accounts.

"So we’re asking everyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined to confirm they want to keep their membership. And we’ll do the same for anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years. Members will start seeing these emails or in-app notifications this week. If they don’t confirm that they want to keep subscribing, we’ll automatically cancel their subscription," said the streaming major.

If you thought of the millions lost in revenue because of this move, Netflix disagrees because, in the blog post, it also said the inactive accounts represent less than half of one per cent of our overall member base, only a few hundred thousand, and are already factored into our financial guidance.

For those who've cancelled their accounts, Netflix says if they rejoin within 10 months, they will still have their favourites, profiles, viewing preferences and account details just as they left them.

We think this is an interesting move after Netflix announced it had gained 15.80 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2020. However, the streaming major says, "Like other home entertainment services, we’re seeing temporarily higher viewing and increased membership growth."

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