Disney+ fans who share their accounts with friends and family may soon face a rude awakening. The streaming giant announced on August 10 that it will begin cracking down on password-sharing in 2024.
According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, the company is “actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family.” He said that later this year, Disney will update its subscriber agreements with additional terms and policies on sharing. And in 2024, it will roll out tactics to drive monetization from password-sharing users.
Iger did not reveal the exact details of how Disney will enforce the new rules, but he said that the company already has the technical capability to monitor much of the account-sharing activity. He also said that the password-sharing crackdown is a “real priority” for Disney and that it represents an opportunity to grow its business.
Disney+ currently allows up to four simultaneous streams and seven user profiles per account. In the Philippines, the service costs ₱159 per month or ₱1,150 per year for the Mobile Plan, and ₱369 per month or ₱2,950 per year for the Premium Plan. However, some users have been taking advantage of this generous policy by sharing their login credentials with others who do not pay for the service.
This practice not only reduces Disney’s revenue potential but also increases its bandwidth costs and creates a security risk for its customers.
Disney is not the only streaming service that is facing the password-sharing problem. Netflix, which has been cracking down on password-sharing since last year, reported that it added 5.9 million new subscribers from April to June. Netflix currently allows up to four simultaneous streams per account, depending on the plan, and charges ₱149 (Mobile) to ₱549 (Premium) per month in the Philippines.
As streaming competition intensifies and content costs rise, streaming services are looking for ways to maximize their revenue and profitability. For Disney+, which has over 100 million subscribers worldwide and aims to reach 230 million by 2024, enforcing password-sharing restrictions could be a key strategy to achieve its ambitious goals.
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