Netflix has announced that it will start automatically cancelling accounts that have been inactive for long periods of time.
Users who have left their account dormant for a year or longer will receive a notification from the company, asking if they want to continue their subscription. This will likely take the form of an email.
If the user doesn’t respond at all, or responds that they want to discontinue their subscription, then Netflix will deactivate their account.
Later on, if a deactivated user wishes to re-open an account, the streaming service will have retained their old viewing history and preferences.
Product innovation director Eddy Wu wrote in a blog post on Netflix’s website: “You know that sinking feeling when you realise 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.”