Credit: What's On Disney PlusDisney Plus, stylized Disney+, may be looking to grow its subscribership, but it’s going to lose millions of users in the short term.
Disney Plus, which was launched in 2019, offers a wide range of content, including Disney classics, Pixar films, Marvel movies, Star Wars franchises, and National Geographic documentaries. It provides users with access to an extensive library of family-friendly entertainment, along with exclusive original content from the Disney brand.
Over the course of the last year, the company has made significant strides in attempts to change the streaming game. Though Disney+ continues to lag behind its biggest competitor in Netflix, there have been moves made to attempt to cut into the marketshare. Now, Disney has made yet another move in an attempt to replicate Netflix: Cracking down on password sharing.
As previously covered by Inside the Magic, beginning March 14, Hulu users will no longer be able to access the account of someone unless they live in the same household, depending on their subscription tier. The password-sharing language, which can be read below, was also added to Disney+ and ESPN+.
“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household,” the agreement states. “‘Household’ means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
The announcement of password crackdowns is not new. Disney+ announced it would begin cracking down on password sharing last year, and there have been significant developments on this front in Canada. As a result of this new announcement, millions of users who are not subscribers will be removed from streaming platforms. This is particularly notable for those who are using the Disney+ and Hulu bundle but are not paying for it.
This, of course, drew the rage of fans across social media.
“what the actual f*** does it matter if someone shares a password,” @frozensails said on Twitter (X). “Disney isn’t getting to collect a subscription from each individual watching if they come to someone’s home to watch it with them?? why is the world f***ing like this, everything is stupid.”
One fan pointed out that their family phone plan may be affected.
“Here’s free disney+/Hulu for your family phone plan oh wait sorry you can’t share that password with your family on your phone plan ahaha,” @ibsroyalty said.
Another said this all started with Netflix and that they were disappointed to see Disney and Hulu follow suit.
“Me and @netflix have beef… why you gotta go from “Sharing is caring” to a ban on password sharing kicking the door wide open and now @hulu and @Disney doing the b******t too. And in this economy… As our queen @taylorswift13 said “this is why we can’t have nice things,” @notohiogirlkate said.
Yet another said that they were upset with the “greed” coming from Disney.
“@Disney @DisneyPlus @netflix your greed will cause you to run out of business. Cracking down on password sharing is unnecessary, especially in the economy we are in. You’ll get canceled soon,” @BelleMuva said.
Disney+ offers a plethora of options for subscriptions:
- Disney+ Basic: For $7.99/month, subscribers can stream Disney+ (With Ads).
- Disney+ Premium: For $13.99/month or $139.99/year subscribers are able to stream Disney+ (No Ads) and download Disney+ content to watch on the go.
In addition, you can get bundle services as well, which can be read below and found on Disney’s official website:
- Disney Bundle Duo Basic: For $9.99/month, subscribers can access Disney+ (With Ads) and Hulu (With Ads).
- If you have an existing ESPN+ subscription and wish to add Disney+ and Hulu, make sure you choose to bundle all three services instead.
- Disney Bundle Duo Premium: For $19.99/month, subscribers can access Disney+ (No Ads) and Hulu (No Ads).
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic: For $14.99/month, subscribers get Disney+ (With Ads), Hulu (With Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads).
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium: For $24.99/month, subscribers have access to Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (No Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads). They also can download content to watch on the go.
- Legacy Disney Bundle: For $18.99/month, subscribers have access to Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (With Ads), and ESPN+ (With Ads). Please note this plan is no longer available to purchase or switch into on Disney+ — existing subscribers will be able to keep their plan so long as they do not cancel or change it.
What do you think of these streaming changes? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!