These days, password sharing crackdowns are becoming more and more common in the streaming world
Disney Plus' updated Canadian Subscriber Agreement states that users cannot share a subscription outside of their household unless their account tier allows it. Violations could result in Disney Plus limiting or terminating service. According to the streamer's help center, "household" includes the collection of devices connected to a subscriber's primary residence and used by the people living there.
These password sharing restrictions are part of several updates to the Disney Plus Subscriber Agreement, scheduled to take effect for most Canadian users on November 1st. Annual subscribers in Quebec could see the changes a little later, depending on their billing cycle - and users who change their plan before November 1 will have the updates applied immediately, this week's email said.As announced back in August, November 1st is also the day that Disney Plus will launch ad-supported tiered offerings in both Canada and select European markets. The Disney Plus advertising tier has been available in the USA since December 2022.It is unclear when or if similar budget restructuring might occur outside Canada. A Disney Plus spokesperson did not provide further details when contacted by The Associated Press.In a conference call last month, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger pledged to make his streaming services profitable — particularly through a planned price increase for his ad-free Disney+ and Hulu plans in the U.S. in October and an expected crackdown on the extend password sharing until next year.At the time, Iger did not provide details about the crackdown on password sharing, other than to say that Disney could reap some benefits in 2024, although he added that the work "may not be complete" this year and that Disney did not predict how many password sharers would switch to paid subscriptions.New streaming restrictions go far beyond Disney. Netflix, for example, made headlines when it cracked down on password sharing. In the US, Freeload viewers now have to open their own account unless a subscriber on a Standard or Premium plan agrees to pay an $8 monthly surcharge to allow more people from different households to watch to enable.
