Following the huge success Netflix had with its password sharing crackdown, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Disney was going to follow suit, with Disney CEO Bob Iger revealing that Disney+ would also soon start cracking down on account sharing. 

Up until recently, Disney never enforced its terms and conditions about people outside a household accessing Disney+, such as family and friends sharing accounts between households.  

After a few months of trials in some regions, today, Disney announced details on its account sharing crackdown and announced that its new paid sharing plan is going to work.

The new paid-sharing plan has now launched in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region after launching in select markets over the summer.

According to the terms and conditions of a Disney+ subscription,  your Disney+ subscription is meant to be used within your Household, which is a collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside there. But what about people outside of your Household? They will need to sign up and pay for their own subscription or be added as an Extra Member to your account for an additional monthly fee to continue enjoying Disney+.

Account holders who want to add someone outside of their Household to their Disney+ subscription will be able to do so with the Extra Member add-on. For example, in the U.S., an Extra Member profile will cost an additional $6.99 per month for Disney+ Basic subscriptions and $9.99 per month for Disney+ Premium subscriptions. It should also be noted that only one Extra Member slot is available per account.

It’s also important to note that this new Extra Member option is not available for Disney Bundle subscribers or for subscribers billed through Disney’s partners (ie cable platforms) at this time.

Is there an alternative to the Extra Member add-on?

As an alternative to Extra Member, people outside of your Household can sign up for their own subscription to watch Disney+. As the account holder, you can transfer an eligible profile to a new subscription or Extra Member to keep that profile’s Disney+ watch history and settings. Note that certain profiles – including primary profiles (account holders), minors’ profiles, and those set to Junior Mode – cannot be transferred.

One of the things that many Disney+ customers are worried about is how they can access Disney+ when they aren’t at home, such as when they are travelling or when they move house. Disney has confirmed that if you’re away from home or on the go, you’ll still be able to watch Disney+ on your supported devices as the account holder or member of your Household.

If you’re on the go and you see the message “This TV doesn’t seem to be part of the Household for this account,” you can mark yourself as I’M AWAY FROM HOME or select UPDATE HOUSEHOLD if you’ve recently moved and need to reset the Household location for your Disney+ subscription. These selections will require a one-time passcode sent to the email address associated with the account.

Roger’s Take: Once Netflix had success with its password sharing crackdown, it was only a matter of time before this also happened, and no doubt there will be many people upset over this change. Ultimately, Disney has been turning a blind eye to this situation for over five years.  

I would also recommend that you check that you or the person you’re setting up this new account for are entitled to a free Disney+ subscription through your bank or mobile, internet, or cable provider before setting up a new or extra account.

Disney has been mentioning that this change has been coming for almost a year, so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to many, especially if you’ve been holding out until the messages started appearing on your devices. But not doubt, there will be many people being confronted by these new messages, who are sharing their accounts in the coming weeks and months ahead, who won’t be happy with the idea of paying even more for Disney+.

What do you think of Disney cracking down on account sharing? Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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