Hulu to crack down on password sharing in March after Disney+

Hulu has updated its subscriber agreement to explicitly prohibit sharing account passwords and access outside a user's household, similar to restrictions recently implemented by sister companies Disney+ and ESPN+. The Walt Disney-owned streaming services are looking to limit account sharing and potentially increase revenue.

According to documents sent to subscribers, the new terms explicitly state that accounts may not be shared outside the "collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence." The policy changes were included in updated agreements dated January 25 and will take effect March 14, 2024.

Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household. We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement. 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.

The language closely mirrors updates that Disney+ made to its own subscriber agreements last year. The tightened rules are meant to ensure that only members of a single household can access the services using a single account. Hulu and Disney+ analyze usage to check for sharing violations and limit access or cancel accounts if the terms are not followed.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has signaled the crackdown on password sharing since last August, who said tactics would be implemented in 2024 to monetize the practice better. "I'm not going to give you a specific number, except to say that it's significant," he said during an earnings call. "What we don't know, of course, is as we get to work on this, how much of the password sharing as we eliminate it will convert to growth in subs."

Netflix saw great success after implementing its sharing restrictions, adding over 20 million subscribers in the last two quarters, which was attributed partly to the changes. Cancelations have also increased unsurprisingly, but when comparing the number of sign-ups to losses, the total gain is still a net positive.