Netflix to start cancelling inactive members’ subscriptions

Netflix, US’ media production brand, says it would start asking customers who haven’t used its platform in the past year if they want to keep their subscriptions — and will cancel their membership if it does not get response.

Eddy Wu, the streaming giant’s product innovation director, broke the news in a statement on Thursday, warning users who have been inactive to confirm their membership.

Netflix also noted that it’s now reaching out to customers who haven’t watched anything for 12 months since they subscribed to inquire as to whether or not they want to keep their membership.

It also included users who stopped watching anything on the streaming platform for more than two years.

“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,” it wrote.

“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. If anyone changes their mind later, it’s really easy to restart Netflix.

“These inactive accounts represent less than half of one percent of our overall member base, only a few hundred thousand, and are already factored into our financial guidance.”

Netflix recently started upping its presence in Nigeria’s movie industry after it purchased rights to a number of Nollywood contents and debuted Netflix Naija, its official face in the country.

“In the meantime, we hope this new approach saves people some hard-earned cash. We’ve always thought it should be easy to sign up and to cancel,” it added.

“So, as always, anyone who cancels their account and then rejoins within 10 months will still have their favorites, profiles, viewing preferences, and account details just as they left them.”