Max’s days of politely asking you not to share your password may be numbered. According to JB Perette, the streaming CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, the company is planning to move from soft nudges to more assertive enforcement when it comes to cracking down on password sharing. Speaking to investors this week, Perette said that the current “gentle messaging” will become “firmer and more visible” as the company ramps up its efforts throughout the second half of 2025 and “really into ’26.” While he didn’t detail exactly how that will look, the tone of the announcement marks a significant shift in strategy—one that mimics the roadmap set by Netflix in its own password crackdown playbook.
Max recently introduced an “extra members” feature that allows paying subscribers to add people outside their household for an additional $7.99 per month—the same fee Netflix charges for similar functionality. Right now, there’s little in the way of hard consequences for sharing your password beyond the occasional on-screen message. But based on Max’s terms of service and Perette’s comments, that leniency may not last much longer. Max reserves the right to “modify access or disable features” if it determines an account is being misused, including through sharing credentials outside a household. Whether that power gets used remains to be seen, but the groundwork is there for more serious actions—should Max decide to escalate enforcement.
So far, no major streaming platform has fully committed to harsh technical enforcement, such as IP or device blocking. Netflix’s approach has been largely behavioral and incentive-based, nudging users toward compliance with a mix of messaging, optional fees, and subtle account restrictions. Max seems to be following a similar trajectory for now. Given that Warner Bros. Discovery just reported a strong first quarter—beating Wall Street expectations on both subscriber growth and revenue—it may not feel immediate pressure to aggressively tighten the reins. In fact, the platform’s recent momentum could encourage a more measured rollout, focused on gentle conversion rather than alienating users.
Still, as the streaming market continues to mature and subscriber growth becomes harder to sustain, more aggressive tactics could be on the horizon. With other platforms also pursuing profitability over pure growth, Max’s evolving password-sharing enforcement strategy may prove to be a test case in how far streamers are willing to go to monetize every household viewer. Whether this effort results in a mild deterrent or a more comprehensive clampdown, viewers who’ve been skating by on shared logins might soon face a decision: pay up, or lose access.
