Max cracks down on password sharing just like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+

The days of being able to share a single streaming service account with your family and friends are quickly coming to an end.

Max, the streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, formerly known as HBO Max, is the latest company to do so Announce It will take strict action against accounts suspected of sharing passwords.

News of Max’s password-sharing campaign comes directly from the CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Discovery JB Perrette speaking at the 2024 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Monday.

Max will begin informing password sharing subscribers of the company’s new policy enforcement later this year with a goal of fully rolling out paid sharing in 2025.

All streaming services are cracking down on password sharing

This news shouldn’t be too surprising. Max is just the latest streaming service in a growing list of providers to crack down on password sharing. Netflix was the first major streaming company to end password sharing last year. Disney followed suit just last month by banning password sharing in its policies Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

Share password. As most of these streaming services see it, it is usually defined as a paid subscriber that allows individuals outside of their household to access their accounts. Streaming companies typically offer plans that allow multiple devices within a household to access content on a single paid account. However, allowing others outside the family of paying subscribers to do so quickly became against the rules throughout the industry.

Streaming services that have already initiated crackdowns typically send out emails warning users suspected of sharing passwords. Netflix has rolled out add-on plans that allow subscribers to pay extra to add members outside their household to their accounts. Disney’s streaming services haven’t offered such an offer to customers yet, but it plans to launch such a feature later this year.

This news comes as Max struggles to grow in the highly competitive broadcast TV market. Warner Bros. has taken Discovery made a very controversial decision last year when it decided to drop the popular “HBO” branding in the name of its streaming services, and switch HBO Max to just “Max.” At the end of 2023, the company announced that Max had acquired… 52 million subscribersA decrease of more than two and a half million subscribers compared to the previous year.

However, the original shows on Max are among the most popular He sought it out. HBO channels game of thrones, Dragon HouseAnd The last of us It topped lists of the most pirated shows throughout the year.

While Max’s decision to stop sharing passwords may not be popular among users who share passwords, it has proven successful for other streaming services. Netflix has been watched by tens of thousands New subscriptions Just two days after cracking down on the practice. By the end of that quarter, Netflix added 8.8 million New subscribers, which is significantly more than the 2.4 million new subscribers seen the previous quarter when users could still share their passwords.

We’ll soon see if Max is completely successful with his password sharing campaign.