Disney Plus Password-Sharing Crackdown Begins

Disney is going to begin cracking down on password-sharing for Disney+ pretty soon, at least in Canada. An email sent to subscribers this week, seen by MobileSyrup, dug into an updated Subscriber Agreement that states there will be "restrictions on account sharing."

Disney+ users everywhere have always been forbidden, according to the written permissions agreement, from sharing their passwords--but the company did not enforce this. On November 1, however, users in Canada won't be allowed to share passwords as an official rule.

The fine print interestingly states that password-sharing is not allowed, "unless otherwise permitted by your service tier." This suggests that Disney+ might follow in the footsteps of Netflix and offer a higher-priced tier that allows for account-sharing.

A password-sharing crackdown for Disney+ is no surprise at all. CEO Bob Iger said in August that the company was "actively exploring ways to address account sharing." He said at the time that new subscriber agreements featuring "additional terms" and updates to "sharing policies" would arrive in 2023, and now they have, at least in Canada. The executive added that Disney will "roll out tactics to drive monetization" in 2024, The Verge reported.

Iger declined to share a specific number as it relates to people sharing accounts on Disney+, but said it is "significant." Netflix, meanwhile, said it had 100 million accounts that were sharing passwords until it cracked down and started charging fees.

Iger said Disney sees this as an opportunity to "help us grow our business," adding that cracking down on password-sharing is a "real priority" for the company.

Netflix saw a massive uptick in subscribers after cracking down on password-sharing, and Disney is likely looking for a similar result from its own methods.

Disney is also looking to make more money from Disney+ by charging more. A price hike for Disney+ has been announced, and it will see the ad-free plan jump from $11/month to $14/month, while the ad-free version of Hulu will go up from $15/month to $18/month. These price hikes go into effect on October 12.