The two Disney-owned streaming services will implement a password sharing ban sometime this year.
Good luck keeping streaming costs down, as Hulu and Disney+ are reportedly being hit with a password sharing ban at some point this year.
The tide has been turning in the world of streaming services. Netflix banned password sharing with great success last year, which has now opened the door for the practice to spread across the industry.
Disney+ and Hulu are likely to be the next in line for the change, with Disney announcing a date for the upcoming change.
When Will the Ban Be Implemented?
Disney+ announced in September that the streaming service would ban password sharing in the near future, but never set an official date for the change.
Now, Hulu seems poised to follow suit, sending an email to users that the change was coming to their accounts. The following phrasing was found in those emails, acquired by The Hollywood Reporter:
“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, 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.”
This change from Hulu was expected, given that the streaming service is owned by Disney, much like Disney+. However, the news of an actual date was also announced, with Disney+ and Hulu reportedly aiming for a March 14th roll-out of the password sharing ban.
How Will the Ban Be Implemented?
The biggest question when Netflix started banning password sharing was how exactly the streaming service was going to enforce this new rule. Netflix implemented a home Wi-Fi based solution that prevented devices that haven’t signed into that Wi-Fi in the last month from accessing the service.
However, despite all the new information from Disney in regard to the password sharing ban for Hulu and Disney+, an actual method has not been concretely explained.
Given the fact that Disney owns Hulu and Disney+, it’s safe to assume that the method of banning password sharing will be similar between the two platforms, but we’ll have to wait until March 14th to find out how the mouse plans to enforce this new rule.
The Success of the Netflix Password Sharing Ban
As frustrating as a password sharing ban may be to users trying to keep costs down, the reality is that the train has left the station and there’s no stopping it at this point.
This is largely due to the success of the password sharing ban from Netflix, which saw users prevented from sharing passwords unless a device had been signed into the main home’s Wi-Fi connection.
After the password sharing ban was put in place, Netflix saw an impressive rise in users and revenue. In fact, Netflix users rose by 8%, adding 5.9 million customers to its streaming service in just a single quarter.
All that to say, the days of sharing passwords on streaming services are numbered, so it might be time to pick your favorites before your bill gets too high.
