How is Hulu planning to stop password sharing? New rule explored

Following Disney and Netflix, Hulu is also set to begin its crackdown on password sharing. The streaming service subscribers have been getting a new email notifying them that they will be implementing a strict policy on password sharing.

According to this policy, those who are not subscribed to the subscription tier specifically allowing them to share passwords will not be able to share their password with family and friends. The ban is expected to take effect on March 14, 2024. As of now, the email or the new terms of subscription have not revealed how the streaming service will measure compliance or how quickly the ToS will be put into action.

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Will Hulu really ban password sharing?

As per the new emails subscribers are receiving, Hulu will definitely be implementing its crackdown policy. Along with notifying subscribers of policy changes, the email also reads,

“We’re adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household, and explaining how we may assess your compliance with these limitations.”

A screenshot of the email (Image via Reddit)

The news comes as no surprise, ever since Netflix implemented a similar policy, which led to an increase in their subscriber count. The streaming service attributed its big growth in two consecutive quarters to its successful password-sharing crackdown.

This has encouraged rival competing streaming sites to also follow a similar strategy, invest in finding out which accounts share passwords, and encourage them towards independent subscriptions. Disney CEO Bob Iger followed suit with the same policy for the streaming service.

The new terms of subscription section of Hulu reads as follows:

"Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household. “Household” means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein. Additional usage rules may apply for certain Service Tiers. For more details on our account sharing policy, please visit our Help Center. 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 (including those set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement).You will be responsible for any use of your account by your household, including compliance with this section."

The ToS was updated to read the same on January 25, 2024. Apparently, Hulu will “analyze the use of your account” and it holds the right to “limit or terminate access” in case the streaming service discovers that any subscriber has broken the new ToS policy.

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Subscription tiers explored

The streaming site offers a number of plans to its subscribers. It has an ad-supported plan that costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, and ad-free plans come at $17.99 per month. If you are a student, you can get an ad-supported subscription for $1.99 per month.

They also have a Live TV option, and the details are as follows:

• Live TV Only: $75.99 per month.
• Hulu (with ads), Live TV, Disney+ (with ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $76.99 per month.
• Hulu (with ads), Live TV, Disney+ (no ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $81.99 per month.
• Hulu (no ads), Live TV, Disney+ (no ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $89.99 per month.

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