A premium Disney+ Hotstar account now enables users to sign in from up to ten different devices. But later this year, the business wants to begin enforcing a rule that permits only four logins per account.
The Walt Disney Company's streaming service Disney+ Hotstar is reportedly restricting account sharing in India, following Netflix's lead. A premium Disney+ Hotstar account now enables users to sign in from up to ten different devices. But later this year, the business wants to begin enforcing a rule that permits only four logins per account.
Disney's strategy comes as Netflix, a streaming competitor, began informing its users in more than 100 countries in May that they would have to pay more to share their subscription with individuals outside of their home.
Due to growing competition from other streaming services in India, Disney+ Hotstar's move is probably an effort to boost revenue. It's also feasible that the business is worried about how password sharing would affect its capacity to provide a top-notch streaming experience.
Disney+ Hotstar is reportedly now testing its new enforcement policy internally as part of their effort to see how effective it is. This action was taken after the streaming juggernaut first took a more permissive stance in an effort to reach a wider audience with simple login procedures. However, as reports suggest, the results of the internal testing showed that just 5% of premium users used more than four devices to access their accounts, indicating the need for additional security measures.
Disney+ Hotstar's action follows the recent launch of paid sharing services by Netflix in India. Users of Netflix will no longer be allowed to share their account passwords with others as a result of this new move, signalling a significant change in Netflix's policy on account sharing.
The business had previously, in May this year, restricted the sharing of passwords across more than 100 nations, including well-known ones like the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, and Brazil.
Users in India will receive emails from the company explaining that the account is intended for a single family and that any additional members may transfer their profiles to a new account and purchase a separate subscription.
Both Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix's initiatives have as their main goal to get consumers to choose their own unique subscriptions rather than depending on shared accounts. The streaming services want to encourage customers to sign up independently by limiting the number of devices that can access a premium membership.