Is Your Favorite Streaming Service Cracking Down on Password Sharing?

This post was originally published March 3, 2023, and has been updated several times, as streaming services mess with their terms and your monthly entertainment budget.

Everyone — from those actually paying to the ones still bumming a log-in — wants to know how Netflix and other streaming services’ crackdowns on password sharing affect them. Restricting a behavior widely seen as acceptable (even “caring”!) was always going to be risky. But it’s the kind of drastic move that Netflix says actually grew subscribers — and it’s a worst-case scenario for users still looking for ways to stay on their parents’ accounts. These results may or may not change the way we use streaming services in general, depending on how other streamers deploy the same tactics. Disney+ and Hulu were the first to follow Netflix’s lead and crack down on passwords, and now Max is doing the same with its own restrictions to come.

In light of that, it’s probably a good time to reacquaint ourselves with what exactly the password-sharing rules are at the major services. We reached out to seven of them to see where they stood on the issue.

Max

The David Zaslav–run streamer has been careful to include clear language in its FAQ pages specifying account use “for everyone in your household,” though it has never really been enforced outside of that. A spokesperson for HBO Max (before it became Max) confirmed that fact to us in 2023, stating, “We anticipate that people living in the same household may share a single account/password, which is permitted in our user agreement. We are aware that password sharing outside of the household does occur and we discourage that activity.” But that stance seems to be changing: The company is planning to discourage that activity by implementing a crackdown in 2025, a plan first teased in a March 2024 presentation given by JB Perrette, Warner Brothers Discovery’s head of global streaming and games. Max is now offering an “Extra Member Add-on” tier for $7.99 a month. This add-on is more of a gentle suggestion, but in May 2025, on the WBD Q1 earnings call, Perrette said their password-sharing crackdown will grow “more assertive” in the next 12 to 18 months.

Disney+

Now, Disney stands for family! And family can be anywhere in the world; they can be your chosen family (a.k.a. your friends) and they can be your random ex-boyfriend’s best friend’s roommate. But it looks like money is thicker than blood, as Bob Iger has publicly said that “improper” password sharing will be dealt with. In 2024, the streamer mass-emailed its subscribers, warning that a March 14 update to the user agreement prohibits using “another person’s username, password, or other account information” and adding that there will be “limitations on sharing your account outside of your household.” And in late 2024, Disney rolled out a “Paid Sharing” plan, where subscribers are encouraged to add additional members to their account as an extra member if they do not live in the same household. The price ranges from $6.99 to $9.99 depending on their subscription tiers.

Hulu

The Disney+ stance applies to this Walt Disney–owned streamer as well. Hulu subscribers received similar emails outlining changes in their subscriber agreement saying that, “We’re adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household, and explaining how we may assess your compliance with these limitations.” The agreement change went into effect on March 14, 2024, for current subscribers.

Prime Video

Amazon seems to be not too concerned with password sharing for its streamer. It’s a multi-use membership that is used to having many people accessing through one paid account. A Prime Video rep confirmed to us that Prime Video has no updates. You can read up on the “Amazon Household” feature, which is explained on the company’s FAQ pages. Basically, many family members can share an account and Amazon will gladly store multiple card information for quicker purchases, but the latter doesn’t really concern Prime Video.

Peacock

As a Peacock representative told to us in 2023, “We currently aren’t making any changes to our policies,” in response to the possibility of stricter password sharing. And that sentiment is still true of its current password-sharing policies — or lack thereof — as Peacock does not specify much else beyond allowing for “three concurrent streams” at a time and allowing up to six profiles on your account. Our requests for an updated comment on the matter went unanswered.

Apple TV+

Reps at Apple TV+ did not care to respond to our requests for comment on its password-sharing policies. But we believe the streamer closely relates to Prime Video on this matter. Apple TV+ isn’t Apple’s main product. It actually has multiple different memberships for its Music, Fitness, News, and Arcade platforms and can be bundled all together with TV+ through Apple One. And all of those can be doled out to different people through Apple Family, which accommodates up to six people.

Paramount+

Paramount Global has a merger to close before it cracks down on password sharing. During a Paramount earnings call in November 2023, CFO of Paramount Global Naveen Chopra answered investor questions on the matter of password sharing, saying, “We don’t see that as a major headwind to our growth efforts” for Paramount+ with Showtime, but that they would “continue to monitor” the situation. More recently, a rep for Paramount+ confirmed that there’s been no change to the streamer’s stance on password sharing.

earlier

• What the Great Netflix Password Crackdown Means for You
• Netflix Launched a New Way to Kick Exes Off Your Account