She Started Paying $25 a Month Extra to Keep Her Brother’s Family on Her Streaming Accounts, and After Asking Him Three Times to Chip In, She Cut Them Off Without a Warning

A woman has let her brother’s family use her Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ accounts for about three years without asking them to pay anything. When the streaming services cracked down on password sharing, she had to pay for extra member slots to keep them on.

That added about $25 a month to her bills. After asking her brother three times over six months to chip in and being told it wasn’t worth arguing over, she quietly cut off the shared access, and now his family is upset.

Three Streaming Services and Three Years Free

She pays for Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+. For about three years, her brother’s family has used all three.

She never asked them for money during that time. She was happy to share.

Streaming subscriptions add up quickly. Paying for several services can easily cost $40 to $60 or more a month, depending on the plans.

Password-Sharing Crackdown

Streaming companies began cracking down on password sharing. Households outside the main account were blocked unless the owner paid for extra member slots.

To keep her brother’s family connected, she added those slots. That meant paying more on each service.

She did it so his kids could keep watching their shows. They used the accounts every day.

$25 More Every Month

The extra member fees added about $25 a month to her bills. Over a year, that comes to roughly $300.

That’s money she never planned to spend. She was covering it for a household that wasn’t hers.

So she asked her brother if he could pay half. Since his kids were the main users, she thought splitting it was fair.

Asking Her Brother to Split It

The first time she asked, he said he’d look into getting his own accounts. Nothing changed.

About a month later, she brought it up again. He told her it was only $5 a month and he’d pay her back later.

He never did. She decided to let it go for a while, figuring he might just be bad at keeping track of things.

It’s Only $5

In the spring, she asked a third time. He gave almost the same answer, saying $5 a month wasn’t worth arguing over and he’d sort it out eventually.

To her, it felt like her request kept getting brushed off. If it was such a small amount, she didn’t understand why he wouldn’t just pay it.

Small monthly charges can quietly add up. Over time, they can turn into a noticeable expense.

$150 Unpaid After Six Months

By then, she’d covered the extra cost for about six months. His share added up to about $150.

He still hadn’t paid anything. She’d asked three separate times and gotten the same response each time.

So she decided to stop paying for the extra member slots altogether.

Canceling the Extra Slots

She canceled the added access on all three services. She didn’t tell her brother first.

A couple of days later, his wife messaged her. She said the kids couldn’t get any of the apps to work.

When the woman explained she’d removed the shared access, her sister-in-law asked her to turn it back on because her 7-year-old was really upset and in the middle of a show.

Upset Kids and a Heads-Up She Didn’t Give

The woman told her it was only about $5 a month per service and they should get their own accounts. Her brother called that night and said she was being petty.

He said she should have talked to him first instead of making a point, and that cutting off the kids was a low blow. She reminded him she’d brought it up three times over six months, and now she’s left wondering whether she should have warned him first or whether he’d already had every chance to fix it himself.

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