Skip to Content

Disney+’s password-sharing rules are showing early signs of increasing subscriber totals

Disney+’s password-sharing rules are showing early signs of increasing subscriber totals

Disney is happy with the results of its initiatives to curb account sharing among subscribers so far.

Password-sharing restrictions may not be customer-friendly, but there’s no doubting the effect they can have on a streaming service’s bottom line. They can help convince viewers who have been using — but not paying for — a particular service to bite the bullet and sign up themselves, lest they lose access to their favorite shows and movies. Disney is one of the latest companies to begin enforcing rules against password sharing on its streamers, and the company’s chief financial officer Hugh Johnston said that everything is going well on that front thus far.

Key Details:

  • Johnston said this week that Disney+ password-sharing rules are “working out well for us in terms of subscriber growth.”
  • He still expects to see incrementally more benefits from the restrictions in the coming months.
  • Disney+ allows customers to add a new subscriber to their account starting at $7 per month.

Johnston had the opportunity to discuss Disney’s initiatives at the UBS Media and Communications Conference on Monday. He informed questioners that the rules restricting account sharing are “working out well for us in terms of subscriber growth.”

Disney first updated the terms of service for its streamers to prohibit account sharing back in February, but didn’t begin enforcing those rules in a meaningful way until the fall of 2024. It uses essentially the same rules as Netflix, using a viewer’s location to determine if they’re streaming at home or not, and prompting users outside the home to enter a passcode to prove that they’re the actual account owner.

The new rules haven’t been enforced strictly enough, or for long enough, to show a big effect on Disney’s financials, but Johnston said that they are creating a small benefit in terms of new subscribers and revenue and that the benefits will augment incrementally in the coming quarters.

When viewers try to access a Disney+ account that doesn’t belong to them, they are prompted to sign up for their own or to have the account owner add a new user to their subscription. Customers can add a new viewer outside their home to a Disney+ account starting at $7 per month.

Disney is far from the only company to crack down on the sharing of streaming accounts. Netflix set the pace for other streamers in this regard, but Max and Disney+ weren’t far behind. NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock also announced in early December that it would begin making stricter efforts to halt account sharing starting in 2025.

Disney+

Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”

Disney+ has several plans with or without ads. Disney+ Basic with Ads costs $9.99 / month. If you don’t want ads, you can choose Disney+ Premium with No Ads which costs $15.99 / month.

The Premium plan also offers an annual option for $159.99 / year ($13.33/mo.).

If you’d like to add Hulu, choose Duo Basic (with ads) for $10.99 / month. Duo Premium offers Hulu and Disney+ ad-free for $19.99 / month.

If you want all three Disney streaming services, you can choose Trio Basic (ad-supported) or Trio Premium (ad-free). The Trio plans offer Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ (with Ads) for $9.99 / month. The Disney Bundle Premium (without Ads) for $26.99 / month.

The app supports unlimited downloads (on their Premium Plans), four simultaneous streamers, up to 7 profiles, 4K streaming, and includes hundreds of avatars.

The service includes 25+ original series, 10+ original movies, 7,500 past episodes, 100 recent movies, and 400 library titles including the entire Disney Vault.

You can see the full list of available Disney, Disney Channel, Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, Nat Geo shows and movies, or all available Disney+ content by checking out our Disney+ Streaming Movie List.

Sign Up

Get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for just $16.99 a month ($14 savings).


David covers the biggest news stories, live events, premieres, and informational pieces for The Streamable. Before joining TS, he wrote extensively for Screen Rant and has years of experience writing about the entertainment and streaming industries. He's a Broncos fan, streams on his Toshiba Fire TV, and his favorites include "Andor," "Rings of Power," and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

DIRECTV STREAM Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $50 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for DIRECTV STREAM.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Sling TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $25 Uber Eats Gift Card when you sign up for Sling TV.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Hulu Live TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $35 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for Hulu Live TV.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.