Disney joins account sharing crackdown

Disney Plus has started informing customers about the impending restrictions on account sharing, which will only be limited to a single household.

The streaming service joins rival platform Netflix in ending the ability to share account and login credentials with anyone who lives in a different household.

Customers in Canada have started receiving emails from Disney Plus informing them of updated terms and conditions for subscribers, with changes taking effect on November 1st.

The clampdown on account sharing coincides with the launch of three different subscription tiers for Disney Plus customers in Canada and parts of Europe, also starting in November.

Taking another page from Netflix's playbook, the streaming service already launched a three-tiered system for customers in the US last year by introducing an ad-supported subscription.

Like in the US, the ad-supported tier will cost the same as the current standard Disney Plus service, while the price of the ad-free monthly subscription will increase. It was raised from $7.99 to $10.99 in the US.

Similar subscription updates on account sharing in the US and elsewhere are expected to roll out through the next year.

Ending account sharing was a successful strategy for Netflix and saw its subscriber numbers soar, something Disney will hope to emulate.

Disney’s customer support section in Canada describes a household as a “collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”

It says: “You may not share your subscription outside of your household.”

However, if Disney Plus continues to follow in the footsteps of Netflix, it is likely that it will also offer account sharing with friends and family in different households for an additional fee.

Disney Plus had 146.1 million subscribers worldwide in the second quarter of 2023, a drop from 157.8 million a quarter before.