Disney+ started getting strict about password sharing in Canada last year, and now it’s expanding the restriction to the US. According to The Verge, the streaming service has been sending out emails to its subscribers in the country, notifying them about a change in its terms of service. Its service agreement now states that users may not share their passwords outside of their household “unless otherwise permitted by [their] service tier,” suggesting the arrival of new subscription options in the future.
The Verge says Disney+ told subscribers that they can analyze the use of their account to “determine compliance,” though it didn’t elaborate on how its methods work exactly. “We’re adding limitations on sharing your account outside of your household, and explaining how we may assess your compliance with these limitations,” Disney+ reportedly wrote in its email. In its Service Agreement, the service describes “household” as “the collection of devices associated with [subscribers’] primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein.” The rule already applies to new subscribers, but old ones have until March 14 to feel its effects.
ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
Was no surprise that other platforms would follow Netflix with not allowing sharing passwords.
What does surprise me is that people actually pay their own subscription for these platforms. Netflix had a win in profit/revenue. I’m surprised that these people did not go for the Piracy method even though, they complain about:
AProfessional@lemmy.world 9 months ago
There are millions of people who can afford $130/yr. They just don’t complain on forums.
nvvp@discuss.tchncs.de 9 months ago
$140 a year, sure. That’s just Netflix or Disney Plus though. If you want all of the services these days you’re up to $140 a month.
Dasnap@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Most people don’t even know how piracy works unless it gets as mainstream as Napster did. You tell them about torrenting, -arr programs, debrid services and they’ll have no clue what you’re talking about.
Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I pirate with torrents and the rest still goes over my head.
d3Xt3r@lemmy.nz 9 months ago
Most people don’t like change. Maybe they have a habit of switching on Netflix daily during dinner or something. There’s also a big “Netflix” button on their remotes and their TV’s homescreen, which serves as a constant reminder. They probably even have the app on their phones. All of this leads to mental conditioning, it’s now a part of their daily lives. Humans a a creature of habit, and it’s hard to break out of a routine ingrained over several years.
Piracy could be a option for some people, but it’s still either too technical, or not as convenient, for the average Joe. Sure, there are even websites you could go to, but most people won’t bother with that - they just want to hit the Netflix button and watch something, without needing to go to some website.
You’ll find that most people would prefer to choose the path of least resistance, even if it means paying (more) money. Don’t forget that even pirates pay money to make things easier - eg usenet/seedbox/debrid services users, and that’s simply because they too would prefer to take the path of least resistance, even if it means paying for pirated content. So it’s not too hard to imagine why normal people would just prefer to cough up the cash and continue with their lives, unchanged.
the_post_of_tom_joad@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
My mother in law is like this. She has cable and she’ll never, never get rid of it. She’ll just browse thru the long, long list of channels (including shipping, music, spanish, and many of which aren’t even available or are pay per view. The act of browsing the crappy ui itself is soothing to her (fucking maddening to me but w\e).
I think she has fond memories of watching cable news and such as a family when she was a child. It’s the only thing that makes sense because she’s alwayscomplaining about the price but refuses to cut the cord. Nothing other than rose- colored glasses could account for her behavior that i can fathom
Z3k3@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Of it were up to me I’d drop it in a heart beat. I’m outvoted by kids grandkids and wife who watch random things throughout the day.
I barely watch TV these days and would happily hooky the odd things I do want to see
Evkob@lemmy.ca 9 months ago
I totally get that the couple of bucks a month is worth saving any headache from doing tech support for family members.
However, if you want to try switching them to pirated sources, Stremio + Torrentio add-on and a Real-Debrid sub (which is paid but much cheaper than a streaming service) is great for giving you a Netflix-like interface for pirated content. It’s easy enough that I coached my dad on how to set it up via text.
Smokeydope@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Also good piracy requires understanding torrenting and navagating the 7 seas with a vpn. My parents LOVE to tell all their friends and family how I can magically get any tv show or movie for 5$ a month without all that subscription crap which gets their hopes up and I have to gently let them down that it requires a bit more computer knowhow than the average person has.
If you think you can properly educate people on safely torrenting be my guest but for most people who have neither the time or desire to learn computer nerd stuff instead of just coughing up dollars go for it!