Disney Plus Password Sharing Crackdown: When Will It Take Effect?

Disney+'s password sharing crackdown was made news a while ago, and it was said to take place this 2024, with the renowned streaming service looking to require users not in the same home to have their account. This follows the successful anti-password sharing policy that Netflix implemented last year, which helped the company see more subscribers creating accounts.

The new direction of Disney+ will also have Hulu join it and effect the same policy, looking to drive more of the business with new subscribers.

Disney+ Password Sharing: When Will it Take Effect?

The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger revealed in an interview with CNBC earlier today that the password sharing crackdown is coming to Disney+ and Hulu, laying out the timeline for the changes.

In June, we'll be launching our first real foray into password sharing. Just a few countries in a few markets, but then it will grow significantly with a full rollout in September.

Bob Iger

This means that starting this June, select regions will get to see the anti-password sharing policy take effect, and it will see its entire implementation by September. However, Iger did not reveal which countries or regions would specifically experience the policy change, particularly when it would take effect in the United States.

Disney Plus and Hulu Are Following Netflix's Strategy

That being said, the company's password-sharing crackdown will begin in around two months, by June, and before the year ends, Disney+ and Hulu will have done what Netflix started in 2022.

For now, there are still no specifics and technicalities regarding how Disney would change password sharing, especially if it were the same as Netflix.

Password Sharing Crackdown

Back in 2016, Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings revealed that he had no problems with account owners sharing their passwords with friends, families, or people who pay for one subscription on the platform. However, that changed around 2022 when the company first started its anti-password sharing policy which was piloted in regions outside the US.

In 2023, Netflix effected the password-sharing crackdown in the United States and, eventually, the rest of the world, where one account belongs to one household only. This was a successful move for Netflix as it reportedly gained 5.9 million new subscribers in only a few months since it took effect in March last year.

The next platforms that announced this were Disney+ and Hulu, the once separate platforms that were owned by the same Walt Disney Company, later announcing its merger.

Anti-password sharing crackdown is growing, and next to Disney+ and Hulu, Warner Bros. Discovery's Max is also joining the changes in its policies. Disney's password sharing first took place in Canada and is now moving to the United States and the rest of the world, starting this June with unspecified select regions first and then taking effect by September for its global audience.