Last year, HBO Max joined the password sharing crackdown trend, following in the footsteps of Netflix and Disney by implementing measures to discourage or prevent the use of a single subscriber account outside of a single household.
The announcement from the streaming service came in early 2024, during its rebranding phase as “Max” before reverting back to “HBO.” While HBO Max was considered a latecomer compared to its competitors, Netflix initiated the crackdown in 2021 and began the rollout in various countries before Disney followed suit in 2023.
Netflix and Disney took a relatively lenient approach to password sharing, while HBO Max intends to take a more aggressive stance starting later this year. Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming chief, Jean-Briac “JB” Perette, revealed during an earnings call that HBO Max’s enforcement will intensify in September with firmer messaging to prompt action from users.
“Starting in September, it’ll actually start to see the messaging, which right now has been a fairly soft, cancelable messaging, start to get more fixed and such that people will have to take action as opposed to right now sort of having a voluntary process.”
– JB Perette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games for Warner Bros. Discovery
While Netflix and Disney have also cracked down on password sharing, HBO Max plans to accelerate the process. The company aims to transition all password sharers to their own accounts by the end of 2025, offering an “Extra Member Add-On” for an additional fee. This approach contrasts with Netflix, which allows up to two extra member accounts on its highest-tier plan.
