Only password crackdowns in the building.
Following in the footsteps of Netflix, Hulu, home of shows like Only Murders in the Building, is now rolling out its own password crackdown.
On Wednesday, the Disney-owned streaming service sent an email to users letting them know their subscriber agreement would never be the same, aka the service is putting a stop to account sharing outside of a user’s household.
“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household,” the agreement reads. “’Household’ means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.”
Additionally, the agreement states that the company will analyze and determine compliance at its “sole discretion.”
“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 Hulu email stated.
However, how exactly the company will perform this compliance analysis remains unclear.
What to watch for:
If you’re a new subscriber as of Jan. 25, 2024, you’re out of luck. The changes are already taking place. However, for previous subscribers, changes begin on March 14, 2024, unless they acknowledge an in-app notice of the changes earlier. Until then, the terms of the prior agreement apply.
Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, previously teased the streamer’s password crackdown last year, saying the company was “actively exploring” ways to address account sharing. And with Disney going all in on its Hulu and Disney+ content merger in March, it seems that was one of the catalysts for rolling out the changes now.
The move makes sense, as Netflix has seen a continued subscriber boost since enacting its password-sharing changes. Still, that doesn’t make the news any easier to bear, especially if you want to watch The Bear.