Netflix is testing a new feature that allows you to suspend your subscription for up to 10 months. Here's how it works
In May of this year, Netflix began deactivating accounts that had been inactive for more than a year, to prevent subscribers from paying for a service they don't use. The streaming giant is now testing an additional option to pause an ongoing subscription and resume it later, within a maximum timeframe of 10 months.
Previously, it was only possible to cancel the subscription and restart it when you preferred, but there were extra limitations to this type of suspension. With the ability to pause the subscription, which remember is still a feature in testing and not available to all, the user can decide more serenely if and when to return to use the streaming service but within a maximum time, after which the subscription will still be treated as inactive. This isn't the first time Netflix has experimented with something like this: in the early days of the service, it was possible to pause your subscription for between 7 and 90 days. Then this possibility was eliminated.
How to pause your Neflix subscription
Subscription pausing is currently being tested. To take advantage of this feature, subscribers need to go to their account settings, where they will find the "Pause" button. Clicking the button will direct them to an additional confirmation page where Netflix will inform them that the change will take effect at the end of the current billing period, and that the maximum time to pause is 10 months. Beyond 10 months, in fact, Netflix will treat the subscription the same as other inactive ones and discontinue it.
Deleting or pausing your subscription?
The question many people are asking at this point is what the difference is between canceling a Netflix subscription and pausing it. The answer is simple: if the subscription is paused Netflix retains all profiles, preferences, viewing history and billing information.
If the subscription is cancelled all of this is deleted and if the user wants to return to Netflix they will have to start from scratch. There is also a psychological motivation behind this: if the user knows they can come back and find all their data they are more likely to do so, whereas if they have to start from scratch they probably won't.