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Bad news Disney+ fans – sharing passwords with people outside your household is over… at least in the US.
As of now, those in America who want to use the service will need to purchase their own Disney+ subscription or join a friend or family’s account as an additional user via the Extra Member function.
The first rumors of password sharing restrictions on Disney+ appeared as early as August 2023. In January 2024, CNN reported that Hulu had sent subscribers an email informing them that the restrictions would come on March 14, 2024. Currently, Hulu prevents people who are not in the same household from sharing accounts.
Disney+ follows a similar path, but leaves a gateway open for users who don’t want to pay for their own subscriptions. Here you will find the rules and costs associated with using the Extra Member option.
If you want to see the rules for using Netflix, check out our piece on Netflix’s approach to password sharing.
We have a similar article about password sharing restrictions on Max.
What does a “household” as defined by Disney+ mean?
Currently, one Disney+ account can only be used by members of the same household – those who live at the same address.
If someone outside the household (that is, anyone who lives at a different address) tries to use Disney+, the service will say “This TV doesn’t appear to be part of the household for this account.”
It can also happen if you want to use Disney+ on vacation or after a move. In the first case, click on ‘I AM AWAY FROM HOME’ and in the second case on ‘UPDATE HOUSEHOLD’. A one-time access code will then be sent to the email address assigned to your account, which you must enter when logging in.
Adding an additional user to your Disney+ account is now available in the United States.
As announced by Disney CEO Bob Iger a few months ago, the company’s new policy was fully launched at the end of September 2024.
This new option is also available in Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.
If you have an ad-supported Disney+ Basic subscription, adding an additional member will cost you extra $6.99 per month.
However, if you subscribe to Disney+ Premium without ads, the cost for an additional user increases to $9.99 per month.
For reference, a full Disney+ Basic account costs $9.99 per month, while a Premium subscription costs $15.99 per month. Therefore, the Extra Member feature saves users $3 and $5 per month respectively in comparison (although obviously not as much as when it was free).
Using a Disney+ subscription as an Extra Member has several restrictions.
To add an Additional Member, you must first have a standalone Disney+ subscription. The additional user option is not available for Disney+ bundled with Hulu and ESPN+. You also won’t be able to use the new feature if you subscribe to the service through third-party partners.
Additionally, the Additional Member cannot have an active Hulu subscription or an active or canceled Disney+ or ESPN+ subscription.
The account holder can only share the subscription with one person. The Additional Member receives his login and profile, but can only use the same content and functions as the account holder. Streaming content will only be possible on one device.
The Additional Member can cancel his/her account at any time, and main account holders can also close access.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
When will Disney+ introduce password sharing rules for Britain?
Disney+ updated its version at the end of July subscriber agreement in Britain to include details of ‘Extra Members’ – this was first spotted by Cordbusters.
The general terms and conditions state the following:
Because the Additional Member Feature is in addition to Subscriber’s Service Plan, the Additional Member Feature cannot exist independently… The Additional Member receives a subset of functionality/features available to Subscriber under its Service Plan.
This means that main account holders have the right to terminate Additional Members on their accounts. It could also indicate that additional subscriptions may offer more limited features than a normal subscriber, although we don’t know the exact details yet.
The other important things Disney didn’t mention are how much these new Extra Members will cost and what date they will go into effect.
However, it does say that it will contact users with a new subscriber agreement and they will have 30 days from then for the changes to take place. Since the agreement is already on Disney’s website and the new policy is available in the US, we assume communications will be sent out soon.
It all started with Netflix. The service’s decision to limit subscription sharing marked a significant change in the streaming world. It appears the company has set a precedent, as Disney has been making it clear for some time that password sharing will eventually be a thing of the past on its streaming platforms – which are Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
The new restrictions are obviously intended to help Disney make more money after a decline in paying members — the streamer lost 300,000 subscribers in the US and Canada during its most recent financial quarter.
CEO Bob Iger hopes the new regulations will increase the number of subscribers, as has happened in the case of Netflix (via The Wrap).