Have you ever heard of the practice of sharing subscriptions with friends, family or third parties, and have surely been tempted to do so, but have doubts about its legality? Here’s an explanation to help you understand what you can do.
Sharing a subscription involves several things: choosing a subscription and its price plan, identifying the people with whom you’re going to share it, and finally, managing refunds between users.
We take a look at good and bad practices to make sure you stay on the right track.
✅ What’s allowed
Sharing can be legitimately authorized if it respects a certain number of conditions, as set out below.
- Take out a subscription with a price plan designed for several users and offer it to other users, or join a sharing group that has such a subscription.
- Receive reimbursement of expenses proportionate to the share of usage, or reimburse the organizer for these amounts.
- Ensure that the sharing group thus formed complies with the license agreement and the service’s special conditions.
- Use the subscription sharing mechanisms provided by the service organizer: invitation link, e-mail invitation, etc.
This is precisely what Sharesub brings you through its service, which ensures the conformity of proposed subscriptions, by checking invoices, using a reference system for prices and number of seats, and so on. The service also offers an adapted and secure payment system, with funds held in escrow during the month of sharing, so that we can arbitrate and reimburse subscriptions in the event of service interruption. All within a payment infrastructure compatible with the financial standards of the countries in which the company operates.
❌ What’s not allowed
These cases, which are not exhaustive, present behaviours that are problematic:
- Take out an individual subscription and share the password to use it with others
- Share a subscription under conditions that violate the terms and conditions of the service, if these are clear, valid and proportionate.
- Sharing a subscription in exchange for payment of an amount greater than the share of use, with the aim of making a profit, as this is akin to a commercial activity, generally proscribed in the services’ general terms and conditions of use.
Naturally, you’ll need to be wary of offers that are too attractive, for example, where the amount seems abnormally low, even for a share.
The general conditions of use
Many subscription providers include terms and conditions in their contracts that allow subscriptions to be shared between family members, or even with friends, or without any restrictions. This is an important point to bear in mind.
In general, as long as usage is reasonable and does not exceed a certain number of concurrent users, subscription sharing is allowed. Sharesub helps you comply with these limits by using templates in which the number of authorized places is checked against a benchmark.
Economic benefits
Subscription sharing can offer many economic benefits to consumers. By sharing a subscription, you can reduce costs for each participant while enjoying the same service. It is an ideal solution for families or groups looking to save money while enjoying quality services.
On the side of service or media publishers, subscriptions shared by several users are a considerable source of revenue. Indeed, studies show that shared subscriptions, although allowing the publisher a lower profit per user, ultimately bring him more revenue because the users :
- are more loyal and remain subscribers longer
- subscribe to the service and participate financially when they would never have subscribed, cancelled or not necessarily chosen this service
- Are a marketing vector, because a person who does not know the service and is invited by third parties will probably make a habit of it.
Subscription-sharing is therefore a growing consumption mode, made possible by the numerous group offers created by service publishers. It’s up to you to seize the opportunity.
