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Disney+ subscribers are not going to be thrilled upon hearing this less-than-magical news.
The Walt Disney Co. announced last week that residents using the streaming service in Canada will no longer be able to share passwords outside of their households, with changes slated to go into effect on November 1.
The company did not share when (or if) these changes are planned to take effect in the U.S.
Related: Disney Combining Hulu, Disney+ Streaming Platforms
“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,” the new Canadian subscriber agreement reads. “If we determine that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.”
Many lamented on social media about the strict and sweeping membership changes.
The decision follows the company’s announcement in September that the ad-free version of the streaming service will cost U.S.-based members $14 monthly (a $3 monthly increase) beginning October 12.
Disney CEO Bob Iger hinted in August that changes would come to Disney+ amid cost-cutting concerns and other restructuring.
“We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family,” he said during an earnings call, noting that there are a “significant” amount of accounts with users sharing passwords that are subscribed to the streaming service. “Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms on our sharing policies, and we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.”
Related: Disney+ Gained 12.1 Million Subscribers in Q4
Disney+ follows Netflix’s lead, which infamously cracked down on password-sharing outside of one household in the U.S. in May, much to the dismay of subscribers and viewers.
The Walt Disney Co. was down over 16.6% in a one-year period as of Monday afternoon.
