Credit: DisneyThere has been a lot going on within the once dominant streaming service, Disney+, but things seem to be taking a turn after subscriber numbers plummeted. Now, users are having their accounts easily hacked.
Since its inception and through the pandemic, we have seen Disney+ shine as one of the financially viable aspects of the Walt Disney World company, due to returning Disney CEO, Bob Iger. Thanks to Disney+, Disney found a way to continue acquiring customers through subscribers, all while their theme parks remained either closed or under a tight capacity limit.
While the parks worldwide were shut down, and with many being stuck in a lockdown, Disney fans needed something to consume that would entertain them during these unprecedented times. With Disney+ on the horizon, it was the perfect time for the streaming platform to shine. Instantly, Disney+ became the go-to streaming platform for many, with the platform gunning for Netflix’s top spot after only starting up a year prior.
The Downfall of Disney+
Although Disney+ saw a spike in subscribers during the pandemic, that luck has since shifted.
As part of The Walt Disney Company’s Q2 earnings report of 2023, the company is reporting a major loss on its streaming platform. Disney+ reportedly lost a total of four million subscribers in Q2 of 2023. This does not bode well for Disney, especially when considering this downward trend that started back in its Q1 earnings report. The streaming platform’s huge loss was partially down to the streamer’s Disney+ Hotstar offering in India and Southeast Asia losing the Indian Premier League (IPL) rights for the massive cricket nation.
At one point, What If…? Season 2, Loki Season 2, Secret Invasion, Ironheart, Echo, and Agatha: Coven of Chaos were all rumored to release this year. That full list proved not to be the case. On top of that, we have seen full projects like National Treasure get axed.
Melissa McCarthy outlined the company’s plan, saying, “We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation.” The comments come as Disney recently canceled projects like National Treasure and Lucasfilm’s Willow after just one season each.
Related: Disney Loses 4 Million Subscribers on Its Streaming Platform
“As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms, and currently expect to take an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion,” McCarthy said. “The charge, which will not be recorded in our segment results, will primarily be recognized in the third quarter as we complete our review and remove the content.”
Related: Bob Iger Says Disney Theme Park Expansions Are Incoming
Therefore, Disney+ is currently in the midst of a historic content purge, which has garnered the attention of fans from around the world. Disney removed more than 50 titles from both Disney+ and Hulu, including dozens of full-length films and series, in an attempt to cut costs.
Most recently, we shared all the content Disney cut from the platform:
Big Shot (Disney+)
Turner & Hooch [(Disney+)
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+)
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (Disney+)
Willow (Disney+)
The Making Of Willow (Disney+)
Diary of a Future President (Disney+)
Just Beyond (Disney+)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)
Marvel’s Project Hero (Disney)
Marvel’s MPower (Disney+)
Marvel’s Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever (Disney+)
Rosaline (Disney+)
Cheaper by the Dozen remake (Disney+)
The One and Only Ivan (Disney+)
Stargirl (Disney+)
Encore! (Disney+)
A Spark Story (Disney+)
Black Beauty (Disney+)
Clouds (Disney+)
Weird but True! (Disney+)
Timmy Failure (Disney+)
Be Our Chef (Disney+)
Magic Camp (Disney+)
Howard (Disney+)
Earth to Ned (
Disney+)
Foodtastic (Disney+)
Stuntman (Disney+)
Disney Fairy Tale Weddings (Disney+)
Wolfgang (Disney+)
It’s a Dog’s Life with Bill Farmer (Disney+)
The Premise (Hulu)
Love in the Time of Corona (Hulu)
Everything’s Trash (Hulu)
Best in Snow (Hulu)
Best in Dough (Hulu)
Maggie (Hulu)
Dollface (Hulu)
The Quest (Hulu)
The Hot Zone (Nat Geo/Hulu)
Y: The Last Man (FX/Hulu)
Pistol (FX/Hulu)
Little Demon (FX/Hulu)
Now, as the company attempts to regain the momentum it lost, it seems that security breaches are at hand.
Disney+ Security Breach
One content creator has gone viral on TikTok after sharing her story on how her account on Disney+ was hacked. It seems that the hacker not only got in, but made their own profile and changed age restrictions. Swellenentertainment shared the video describing the situation below.
@swellentertainment bot le getting hacked AGAIN
It seems that this is something that has been happening to many people, as the comments on the video generally say, “I thought i was the only one ☝🏽” and “Someone had my Disney Plus account and my last straw was them changing all my language settings to Spanish”.
Another added, “Our Disney account gets hacked regularly. One time, they changed every profile pic and name.”
“Someone hacked my mom’s account and deleted the whole family’s profiles instead of watching whatever … mom deleted the account lmao,” another Disney+ customer added.
“Protecting your privacy and security is a top priority for The Walt Disney Company and we have implemented several processes to ensure we protect your data,” reads the Disney+ online help center. “To ensure your account is safe, if we notice suspicious login activity, our policy is to lock your account within four hours and end all active sessions associated with your Disney+ subscription.” Users are then directed to reset their password.
According to Wired, “Disney rejects any suggestion that its systems have been hacked. “We have found no evidence of a security breach,” the company said in a statement. “We continuously audit our security systems and when we find an attempted suspicious login we proactively lock the associated user account and direct the user to select a new password.”
Have you ever had your Disney+ or Hulu account hacked?