Hulu to Crack Down on Password Sharing Following Disney+

Hulu is set to follow in the footsteps of Disney+ when it comes to cracking down on password and account sharing.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Disney-owned streamer sent an email to subscribers on Wednesday, January 31, notifying them of an updated agreement that bars sharing accounts with those outside of the user’s household.

“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household,” the updated agreement states, per THR. “‘Household’ means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”

While the new agreement was dated January 25, the terms won’t actually come into effect until March 14, 2024.

“We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement,” the updated terms continue. “If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.”

This change comes after a similar subscriber agreement was sent to Disney+ users in Canada in late 2023. In addition, Disney CEO Bog Iger announced last August that the company was “actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family.” (per TheWrap)

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The new Disney+ agreement went into effect in Canada on November 1 and is expected to roll out in the U.S. and other global markets sometime this year.

Netflix was the first major streamer to implement a crackdown on password and account sharing and has since reported two consecutive quarters of big subscriber growth, which the company attributes to its successful password-sharing restrictions. With Netflix’s success, it makes sense why other streamers are now following suit.

Hulu, which launched in 2008, has become popular in the streaming space, airing original shows such as Only Murders in the Building, The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fleishman is in Trouble, Reservation Dogs, and A Murder at the End of the World.