Disney won’t close Hulu app, but can now link profiles to Disney+
Disney won’t close Hulu app, but can now link profiles to Disney+
A select number of viewers can import their watch history and profiles from Hulu to their Disney+ account.
As promised, Disney is bringing its two entertainment streaming services closer together. This week, select Hulu and Disney+ subscribers can begin linking their Hulu profile to their Disney+ account, moving their watch history, preferences, and more to Disney’s flagship streaming service. However, the conversation around how that will work is changing. While the prevailing wisdom around the streaming industry has long been that Hulu would eventually become just another tile in Disney+ — like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and other content — Disney is now saying that it has no plans to shut down the general entertainment streamer’s standalone app.
Key Details:
- Bring them together: Select users can now link their Hulu profile to Disney+.
- Phased rollout: Profile linking is launching for specific Disney Bundle subscribers first.
- Not so fast: Disney says it has no intention of shutting down the Hulu app for now.
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The ability to link Hulu profiles to Disney+ has already launched for some subscribers. If you see the option available when you log into your Disney+ account, linking your profile will let you bring your watch history, watchlist, and recommendations over from Hulu to the Disney+ app. You’ll be able to start watching a title on Hulu and continue from where you left off on Disney+ once your profiles are linked.
You’ll also be able to personalize your Disney+ profile with new avatars from Hulu once you’ve linked them. Profile linking is only available for adult Disney+ and Hulu profiles, and is launching first for customers subscribed to either the Disney+ and Hulu bundle or the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundle.
Other Disney Bundle subscribers, such as viewers who bundle Disney+ with Hulu and HBO Max, will see the profile linking feature roll out later in the year. If you’re an eligible Disney Bundle customer but don’t see profile linking yet, keep checking back, as it will probably become available soon. Disney+ also says it will soon begin testing a Live guide for free streaming channels, as well as ESPN networks for those who subscribe to ESPN Unlimited.
It’s been a little less than a year since Disney first pledged that Disney+ and Hulu would be “fully integrated” in 2026. At the time, most analysts took that to mean that Disney+ would be absorbing the Hulu app in its entirety, and that a standalone Hulu app would soon no longer exist.
But that isn’t the case, as a Disney representative has confirmed to Variety. The rep said there are no “current” plans to do away with the Hulu app, but that means the company reserves the right to change its mind in the future. It seems like an inevitability that at some point, Hulu will be completely folded into Disney+, as it would likely save money on technology, marketing, and staffing redundancies. However, as of now, it does not appear that customers will be forced to give up the Hulu app if they don’t want to.
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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.”
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Hulu
Hulu is a video streaming service that gives access to thousands of full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, kids shows, and Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Handmaid's Tale.”
