Image: © Emre Akkoyun/Stock.adobe.com
The streaming service only allows one ‘extra member’ per account, while Netflix allows two in its Premium packages.
Disney+ has now expanded its password-sharing crackdown to many places globally, including Europe, the US, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Asia-Pacific region.
Subscribers in these regions can now add just one ‘extra member’ outside of their household to their Disney+ subscription for an additional fee. No extra members can be added on the Disney Bundle subscription.
“Your Disney+ subscription is meant to be used within your household,” Disney said in a statement released yesterday (25 September). The platform defines a ‘household’ as the devices that are used in your primary home by anyone who lives there.
Alternatively, extra members can sign up for their own subscription and their profile can be transferred over, keeping their watch history and settings. However, primary profiles that hold the account, minors’ profiles and profiles set to Junior Mode cannot be transferred.
The Disney+ password crackdown comes after Netflix brought similar password-sharing regulations to many countries last year, including Ireland, the UK, the US and New Zealand. Since last May, Netflix users in these countries have also had to pay an additional fee to add ‘extra members’ to their account. And similarly, extra members’ profiles can be transferred to a new account.
However, Netflix Premium allows two extra members, while the Standard package only allows one.
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced last month that the crackdown would begin “in earnest” in September.
The platform announced last year that it was looking into password sharing after its subscriber numbers for the quarter declined by 7.4pc – although Disney’s streaming losses also reduced in the same period.
At the time, Iger said the move to tackle password sharing was a “real priority” and an effort to further grow the business. Disney has taken steps since then to make its streaming service more appealing, such as the launch of a combined Disney+ and Hulu offering.
As of August 2024, Disney+ had 153.8m subscribers, up from 150.2m at the end of 2023.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
