Remember when Netflix seemingly turned the world upside down when it started getting huffy about password sharing and had people swearing they’d stop bowing down until something changed? Yeah, that didn’t work. All it did was add subscribers to its already massive arsenal and draw up a blueprint for streamers to follow suit. Now, Disney+ is doing exactly that.
Disney Plus (minus the freeloaders)
In the US, at least. So you can put that rude-worded tweet away for the time being. We’ve been bracing for the House of Mouse’s password squeeze ever since it began trialling it back in Canada back in 2023, and now the time has come. According to The Verge, Disney+ customers in the States are receiving emails warning them of incoming changes to its terms of service that would make it that much harder for the family freeloader to get in.
So why are we kicking up a fuss? Because everything on that side of the world makes its way across the ocean to meet us eventually. Disney may not have confirmed that it’ll implement those new laws everywhere, but our quietly pessimistic inner monologues are gearing up for the change anyway. According to the emails subscribers are receiving, Disney+ has marked 14 March 2024 as the day those changes will come into effect for the US.
“We’re adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household, and explaining how we may assess your compliance with these limitations,” the email explains.
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It doesn’t delve much deeper into how it’ll handle those profiles riding off another’s accounts, but we can make a good guess. Disney describes a ‘household’ as “…the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein,” on its Help Centre. It makes the most sense to follow Netflix’s lead and require any devices under a particular account to check in on the primary owner’s Wi-Fi once a month or so.
For now, enjoy handing out your mother’s password to anyone and everyone you can until our Disney overlords decides South Africa’s time has come. Fret not — we’ll keep you in the loop until that happens.