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With a new “paid sharing” feature, Disney (DIS)+ has officially joined Netflix (NFLX) in cracking down on password sharing.
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The new feature was rolled out today to Disney+ users in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, according to a company blog post. It had previously launched in select regions earlier this summer.
In the post, the media giant said that a Disney+ subscription is only meant to be used by one household, which the company defines as “a collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside there.”
The streaming service determines a household based on login activity, linked devices, and internet connection.
“The logic used to determine your household relies on the fact that devices within the same household would share the same internet connection details regularly,” the company said in its help center.
With paid sharing, account holders can now add an extra member to their household for an additional $6.99 a month for a basic Disney+ subscription and $9.99 for a premium plan. Only one extra member can be added per account. Extra members can’t be added to Disney bundle subscriptions at this time.
Alternatively, non-paying users can sign up for their own account and transfer their profile in order to save their viewing history and settings.
Disney said that people can still use their subscriptions when they’re away from home. If they get a message that says “This TV doesn’t seem to be part of the Household for this account” they will be given the option to mark themselves as away from home or to update their household. Both options will require users to enter a one-time password sent to the email address associated with the account.
Netflix was the first major streaming platform to address password sharing in May of last year. And earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discover said that Max would crackdown on password-sharing in late 2024.
