Netflix users hit with worrying ‘upgrade’ on-screen alert

Netflix made several big changes to its membership tiers last year, but it looks like the streaming giant isn’t done yet.

Netflix made several substantive changes to its membership tiers in 2023, but it looks like the streaming giant isn’t done yet.

A report from The Independent notes that some Netflix users in Canada and the UK have reportedly received messages urging them to upgrade from the Basic tier to Netflix’s Premium, Standard, or Standard With Ads plans.

The message from Netflix reportedly tells users their “last day to watch Netflix is July 13″ and urges them to “choose a new plan to keep watching.”

Users in other countries who are also subscribed to the basic plan should expect to see similar changes soon.

Per The Independent’s reporting, Netflix announced during an earnings call earlier this year that they planned to remove the plan “starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 and taking it from there.”

Some Netflix viewers have been hit with this alert. picture: Reddit

Netflix announced in 2023 that it would be eliminating the ad-free, basic subscription for new subscribers, while noting that users who were already subscribed to that tier would remain in the clear. It looks like that is no longer the case.

The controversial move was made after the streamer launched its Standard With Ads plan in 2022. The Standard With Ads plan, which is available in the Australia for $7.99, allows streaming on two devices, but does not include the ability to download content for offline viewing or adding other members.

According to the Netflix site, a “small number” of their shows and movies are not available to viewers on the ad-supported plan “due to licensing restrictions.” It also includes a cheeky note about how many ads are displayed when streaming: “Less than you might think.”

Netflix users have reported getting messages urging them to upgrade their membership. Picture: Patrick T. FALLON / AFP

Viewers also have the option of upgrading to the Standard plan for $18.99 a month, or the Premium plan for AU$25.99 a month.

Netflix isn’t the first streamer to recently shift to an ad-supported model.

Amazon Prime Video also made the shocking change in early 2024 when it converted all Prime Video accounts to an ad-supported plan.

It’s unclear how this decision will affect Netflix’s numbers, but the streamer saw huge success after it cracked down on password sharing in 2023. The company reportedly saw an average of 73,000 new sign-ups in the days following the policy change.

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Netflix users hit with worrying ‘upgrade’ on-screen alert