What you need to know
- Disney's crackdown on password-sharing, now a reality, will begin in Canada as of November 1.
- The company sent an email to the streaming service's Canadian subscribers on Wednesday.
- Disney CEO Bob Iger announced these plans last month, echoing Netflix's success with a similar restriction, as the company seeks new ways to further monetization.
Last month, Disney announced plans to introduce a password-sharing crackdown for its streaming service, following in Netflix’s footsteps. Now, it looks like those plans are coming to fruition — at least in Canada.
The company reportedly sent an email to its Canadian subscribers on Wednesday detailing the new account-sharing rules (via The Verge). According to the new policy, Disney will begin charging extra fees for password-sharing with people outside of your household starting on November 1.
“We’re implementing restrictions on your ability to share your account or login credentials outside of your household,” the email reads, according to The Verge.
Apparently, as further noted by the folks at Mobile Syrup, new terms are being added to Canadian subscriber agreements in the form of a dedicated account-sharing section, which will coincide with the launch of the new policy.
“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household,” the terms read, noting that Disney will analyze your account to determine if you’re complying with the new rules. “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.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger warned about the impending crackdown on password-sharing during last month’s Q3 earnings call, where he said the company was exploring ways of addressing sharing accounts. He noted that Disney now had the “technical capability” to monitor user sign-ins, which makes such a restriction possible. As we know, it’s not the first streaming service to put its foot down on sharing passwords outside of your household, as Netflix started charging for extra users on your account earlier this year.
Though Netflix’s restriction was considered widely unpopular among users, it proved to be a good move for the company in terms of revenue growth. So, it’s no surprise that Disney wants to follow suit as the company seeks out new ways to further monetization.
We still have more to learn about Disney's password-sharing crackdown and what it means for subscribers. For now, Disney+ users may find solace in a new ad-supported bundle, combining its services with Hulu.
