Disney password crackdown starts in Australia this week, here’s what you need to know about the new rules

Disney will start its password-sharing crackdown this week in Australia.

The studio has officially launched what it calls its “paid sharing” program in Asia Pacific, the US, Canada, Europe, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

It means that anyone who is currently sharing their Disney+ streaming account across multiple residences will soon see a message that the device doesn’t “seem to be part of the Disney+ household for this account”.

Anecdotally, password sharing is a popular practice among family and friendship groups in which subscribers to different streaming platforms will trade access to each other’s services.

When Netflix flagged in April 2022 that it would, for the first time, seek to stop password sharing. It said 100 million of its then-220 million members engaged in password sharing.

On Disney+, there is now an option to add an “extra member”, which costs $7.99 a month in Australia and is limited to one per account. The price for an “extra member” is the same whether you’re on a standard or premium tier. In the US, the add-on is more expensive for premium subscribers.

Anyone who then chooses to sign up for an entirely new account, either $13.99 for a standard or $17.99 for a premium, can transfer their watch history and algorithmic suggestions.

For subscribers who are travelling and therefore away from the usual IP address associated with their account, they can mark themselves as “I’m Away From Home”.

The company said it can detect password sharing through a combination of subscription activities, linked devices and IP addresses.

Disney streaming exclusives include the Emmy-winning shows Shogun, The Bear and Only Murders in the Building as well as Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm movies and TV series, and classic Disney animations such as Moana, Cinderella and The Little Mermaid.

Disney’s password crackdown follows a similar move by Netflix which found a low churn rate despite earlier protests by disgruntled customers that they would cancel their accounts.

Soon after its rollout, Netflix reported an uptick in subscriber sign-ups it attributed to people converting from password-shared accounts, which encouraged its rivals to flag they will do the same.

Password sharing has always been against streamers’ terms and conditions but it was never enforced until these recent moves. Netflix famously once posted on its social media accounts that “love means sharing a password”.

Netflix revealed it would crack down on password sharing when it reported a loss in subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 which led to a rout of its share price and market capitalisation. The password crackdown along with the introduction of an ad-supported tier was designed to open up new revenue streams.

The past two and half years have been tumultuous for streaming services as their priorities shifted from growth to profitability.