The issue of password sharing on streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+ has garnered considerable scrutiny, prompting crackdowns. However, for many companies, developing an effective internal system to address account sharing is daunting and time-consuming. Rupt unveils the inaugural solution that simplifies and enhances the accuracy of detecting account sharing, effectively converting these password sharers into paying subscribers. Additionally, Rupt has successfully concluded a pre-seed funding round, securing investments from Mucker Capital and Carya Venture Partners.
Based on Rupt’s research into its 30 pilot customers’ two million users, companies are leaving as much as 40% of revenue uncaptured as a result of password sharing. By converting these account sharers into paying customers, Rupt is opening up a substantial new source of revenue for software platforms.
Among its pilot cohort of software-as-a-service companies, Rupt’s API has already unlocked $15 million in new revenue. According to Danielle Dyess, principal product manager at Sketchy (a leading eLearning company), “Once we implemented Rupt, we saw about 4% of the account sharers convert, which was fantastic and was a lot more than what we were getting in conversions, prior to using Rupt.”
“We are extremely cautious about intruding on the user experience. One major characteristic that sets Rupt apart is our extreme emphasis on accurately identifying who is sharing accounts,” said Ahmed Saleh, Rupt CEO. “Distinguishing whether users are traveling or accessing accounts in more than one web browser is crucial in determining whether people are sharing passwords or not.”
How Rupt Came to Be
Rupt founder Ahmed Saleh developed the Rupt technology and established the company after losing his first startup because too many users were sharing accounts.
“If we had 20% more revenue, it would’ve saved the company. As it turned out, we were losing 35% of revenue due to shared accounts. And, ultimately that made the losses too big, and I had to shut it down,” Saleh said.
Rupt’s sophisticated AI algorithm can:
- reveal to a SaaS company how many users they actually have (in one pilot, 116 users were sharing one account!)
- combine user behavior, geolocation, and device specs to prevent multiple users from sharing accounts (without “punishing” paying customers who travel or use multiple devices)
- offer non-paying users a way to easily sign up
How Rupt Converts Sharers into Paying Customers
Once Rupt detects which accounts are being shared, the tech directs non-paying customers to a custom-branded page where they are presented with a challenge, offering them the option to seamlessly create a new paying account or verify they are the account owner. Companies can offer incentives to convert account sharers to paying customers-such as a 25% discount-to subscribe immediately.
One Rupt customer, an AI writing company, captured $1 million in new revenue in two months, just from new subscribers who joined once they were identified by Rupt.
Alternatively, when users prove that they are the owner of the current account, they can remove all the other people who are sharing.
“There’s no better way to deal with this issue of password sharing than to convert non-paying users into new, paying-and happy-customers, and that’s what Rupt specializes in,” Saleh said. “Account sharing can serve as a fantastic growth channel as it signs up people already engaged and loving your service.”
“Today we are democratizing this new growth channel by building the difficult part and making it incredibly simple for companies to use and reap the benefits,” he added.
For more information on Rupt’s Password sharing API, visit the website here.
