Disney+ is following in the footsteps of Netflix by cracking down on password sharing, meaning that people who are using the account of a friend, loved one, or even an ex, will have to find alternative ways to watch.
The streaming platform is one of the biggest around the globe, and it is the place to watch the latest Star Wars and Marvel shows, as well as many beloved US hits like Grey’s Anatomy and Only Murders in the Building. Disney+ has now revealed new rules going forward for subscribers, detailing what the password crackdown will mean for users and how they will be enforced.
Here is everything you need to know about when the global crackdown is happening and what the new rules will be.
What are the new Disney+ password sharing rules?
Disney+ has now rolled out its password sharing crackdown, with users in the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed in April 2024 that Disney+ would be launching a password crackdown on its streaming service by September.
A new subscriber agreement was sent out to existing UK users on 24 July, confirming that the agreement would come into full effect in 30 days time. This meant that from the end of August new rules would apply to users.
Disney+ previously allowed subscribers to share their password with anyone they liked, however now this will be limited to only those within the same household (with one exception, more on that later).
In the streamer’s UK Help Centre, it states: “You may not share your subscription outside of your household”, with a household being described as the devices associated with the account’s primary personal residence. This means that only people who live in the primary personal residence will be able to watch from the Disney+ linked to that address.
Subscribers will be able to watch it outside of their home so long as the majority of viewing activity is registered as being within the primary personal residence. In new Subscriber’s Agreements sent to those registered with Disney+, it now states: “Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Plan, 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. Additional usage rules may apply for certain Service Plans.”
Disney+ will be tracking IP addresses to register where users are accessing the streamer from, which will in turn show which users are based in the main household and which are not. Any users seen to have “violated this agreement” can have their access limited or terminated.
The contract adds: “You will be responsible for any use of your account by your household, including compliance with this section.”
How Disney+ users can still share their account
There is one way for a user to share their account with others, and that is by using an Extra Member add-on subscription. Disney+ has now shared how much this add on will cost, for Disney+ Standard with Ads it will cost £3.99 per month, for Disney+ Standard it’ll be £4.99 monthly, and for Disney+ Premium it is £4.99 a month.
The new subscriber’s agreement states that an extra member will be able to create one profile for their sole use that they cannot share with anyone else. New rules state that the Extra Member must be at least 18 years old, and reside in the same country as the original subscriber, they also cannot have an active or cancelled Disney+ subscription.
A subscriber who purchases the Extra Member add-on is the account owner and can invite one person to create an Extra Member account. The extra member will be required to register for a Disney+ account and the fees related to the new account will be charged to the main subscriber as part of their Disney+ subscription plan.
The extra member will be able to terminate their account at any time, and the main subscriber will be notified of this. The main subscriber also has the right to terminate an extra member from the account, they are also allowed to change who their extra member is at any time.
An Extra Member account cannot exist independently, so if the main subscriber cancels their subscription then both they and the extra member will lose access to Disney+. On the flip side, an extra member does not have the right to cancel or change the main user’s subscription.
