Disney Plus has announced details of how it will prevent freeloaders from sharing their accounts.
The company will block people from different households who use the same account. You can do this by monitoring what WiFi they are using.
Anyone who wants to add an “additional member” must pay $6.99 a month for the ad-supported plan and $9.99 for the ad-free version, the company said Wednesday.
The option only applies to standalone Disney Plus, and not if it’s included with Hulu. In those cases, a completely separate account must be created.
Disney’s crackdown is similar to what Netflix did in 2023: account holders can add additional members for a cost. But for better value, the price of additional people is lower than a completely new subscription.
Disney+ has started cracking down on password sharing
Disney announced its plans to end password sharing earlier this year and is now making it official.
Streaming services are increasingly banning the practice as a way to boost profits as sign-ups stagnate.
Netflix led the way, followed by HBO’s Max and now Disney Plus.
The new rules mean that a subscription can be used by a group of devices as long as they are in the same “household”.
Disney, like Netflix, will count the TV you sign in on as the primary device and then anyone else who wants to use that subscription will have to use the same Wi-Fi network at least once a month.
Netflix offers “additional member slots” to subscribers who want to share their account with people outside their household for an additional $7.99 each.
Or they can set up their own account entirely: for $6.99 a month with ads or $15.49 without ads.
The fight against password sharing, launched in 2023, has worked for Netflix, with skyrocketing profits and record subscriber numbers.
HBO Max will begin cracking down later this year. Owner Warner Bros. Discovery will block people from sharing passwords outside their home as soon as this fall in a bid to boost its dwindling audience.
Meanwhile, Disney will increase the price of its streaming plans next month, a year after the last increase.
Disney customers can invite someone to join their family, for $6.99 or $9.99 per month.
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‘We started our password sharing initiative in June. That will go into effect in September,” CEO Bob Iger said in a recent meeting.
The prices will go into effect from October 17 and will affect Disney+, Hulu and ESPN, the entertainment giant’s three streaming services.
Disney+ with ads increases from $7.99 a month to $9.99, a 25 percent increase. The ad-free tier will increase by $2 to $15.99.
Experts on how to overcome password sharing rules
There are still ways to get around the new restrictions so you can continue borrowing that friend’s login.
To avoid having to pay an additional subscription, there are reasonably easy ways to get around the rules, according to Life Hacker blog.
One option, if you live near the person paying the bill’s house, is to visit their house once a month and log into their Wi-Fi and stream Disney+ for a while on your phone, tablet, or laptop.
This should convince the account that it is being transmitted through devices considered within the same household.
Disney+ will then “remember” your device for the next 30 days, thinking it’s part of the account household.
Streaming on a smart TV outside of the account’s primary residence is a little more complicated.
However, Life Hacker recommends authenticating a different tablet on home Wi-Fi once a month and then casting it to your smart TV at home.
