Disney Plus will start clamping down on password-sharing overseas to coincide with a major shakeup to its pricing model.
The streaming service is informing customers in Canada that it will soon restrict them from sharing their accounts with anyone outside of their household.
Disney is enforcing the new policy as part of an update to its terms and conditions for subscribers, which will come into effect on November 1.
In its subscriber agreement, Disney states that it will monitor how customers use their accounts and limit or terminate access to Disney Plus for those who violate the rules.
The password-sharing crackdown in Canada will coincide with the launch of Disney Plus’s new subscription tiers. Starting in November, Disney is set to replace its sole subscription in the UK with three plans in total, including a cheaper option with ads.
The company updated its terms and conditions in the UK on September 22 ahead of the launch of the new tiers. Disney says that it regularly reviews its subscriber agreements, and will update them with additional terms on its password-sharing policies.
The company previously indicated that limits on account sharing were in the works. Disney will be hoping it can reap the same benefits as Netflix, which has seen its subscriber numbers balloon since banning the practice earlier this year.
Based on the company’s past statements and info on its website, it sounds like it will follow the same path as its streaming rival by preventing customers from accessing the service outside of their main address.
In its customer support section in Canada, Disney states: “You may not share your subscription outside of your household.
“Household means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
At the time of writing, the same help section is not available on the Disney Plus site in the UK or US.
Speaking on his firm’s earnings call in August, Disney chief Bob Iger said it was “exploring…the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family”.
So, don’t be surprised if Disney emulates Netflix by allowing subscribers to pay an additional fee to add extra members to their accounts.
Iger added that Disney would start implementing its password-sharing mitigation tactics in 2024, but that the initiatives would not be completed next year.
Disney Plus currently has 146.1 million subscribers. Like the rest of Hollywood, the entertainment behemoth has been grappling with a five-month writers’ strike that has only just come to an end. As a result of the disruption, Disney was forced to delay a raft of Marvel and Star Wars movies, and the remaining sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar franchise.
