Disney+ is cracking down on some users, with strict new measures rolled out across the streaming service this week.
The road to streaming success hasn’t exactly been smooth for Disney+. The platform—initially launched to great success with its library of beloved Disney classics and blockbuster franchises—started hemorrhaging subscribers in 2022, when it lost 2.4 million subscribers in the last three months of the year.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek took the brunt of criticism about why the platform was struggling, with his predecessor, Bob Iger, brought in as his replacement in November 2022 (although, as we recently heard, that situation may have been even more complex than we first thought).
What followed was a string of cost-cutting and money-making measures, such as purging some content, increasing subscription prices, adding a new subscription tier with ads, and announcing a Netflix-esque crackdown on password sharing.
While this already went into action in the UK earlier this year, it’s now reached the US. Today, Disney unveiled its new “paid sharing program,” which will allow subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family—for a price, of course.
As per a blog post shared by Disney, those sharing their Disney+ account with someone outside their household can now officially add them as an “Extra Member” for $6.99 a month for Disney Basic or $9.99 for Disney Premium. But there’s a catch: only one Extra Member is allowed per account, and this perk doesn’t extend to the Disney Bundle.
Users already sharing an account can also subscribe to Disney+ and transfer their profile to the new account so they can keep their watch history and settings.
If you think you can sneak past this system, Disney has ways of keeping tabs on who’s using your account and where. The help center says that it “will automatically detect and establish your Household based on your subscription activity, linked devices, and internet connection among other factors.”
Don’t worry – you can still sit down and watch the likes of The Mandalorian, Agatha All Along, Inside Out 2 (2024), and other Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel TV shows and films on vacation.
Disney’s blog post claims that if you’re away from home, you’ll receive a message saying, “This TV doesn’t seem to be part of the Household for this account,” and either mark yourself as being away from home or choose to update your household to a new location. Both options will require you to enter an OTP that’s sent to the email address used to register your account.
In a wonderful stroke of good timing, Disney+ will become even more expensive soon. The monthly cost of Disney+ will rise by $2 to $9.99 for the ad-supported tier, while the ad-free tier will increase by $2 to $15.99.
What do you think of Disney’s new crackdown on password sharing?
