Disney+ Will Begin Password-Sharing Crackdown Soon

Disney+ subscribers may have access limited if they share passwords.

By Spencer Perry

Back in August came word that The Walt Disney Company would join the likes of Netflix and start cracking down on password-sharing among its Disney+ subscribers. Like other streaming services, Disney+ will begin to notice when someone logged into one account is watching in different parts of the world, and they've already told subscribers in Canada when they're going to start looking for it. Canadian outlet Mobile Syrup reveals details of an email sent to Canadian Disney+ subscribers, noting that an "updated Subscriber Agreement will be effective on their next billing date, on or after November 1st, 2023," which prohibits allowing persons not in your household to use your account

According to the outlet, the Disney+ email about password-sharing crackdown adds: "We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement. If we determine that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement." Once again, this was sent to Canadian subscribers with a timeline of starting November 1st. US subscribers to Disney+ have not yet received a notification of this sort just yet, but they eventually will. 

"We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing, and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family," The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said previously. "Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms and our sharing policies, and we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024."

"We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this (password sharing). And I am not going to give you a specific number except to say that it's significant. But we don't know of course is, as we get to work on this, how much of the password sharing, as we basically eliminate it, will convert to growth in subs," Iger continued. "Obviously, we believe there will be some but we're not speculating. What we are saying though, is that in calendar '24, we're going to get at this issue. And so while it is likely you'll see some impact in calendar '24. It's possible that we won't be completed or the work will not be completed within the calendar year, but we certainly have established this as a real priority, and we actually think that there's an opportunity here to help us grow our business."

Though viewers may balk at the idea of password-sharing being now frowned upon by these subscription services, but according to Netflix it's actually been a good thing for their business. In a recent earnings call, Netflix confirmed that every time they announce a crackdown on password-sharing that there is an uptick in subscriber cancellations as a result. After that settles however, new subscribers begin to sign up, that resulted in a net-growth of subscribers for the most recent quarter. It's possible that Disney+ will see a similar trend.

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