Hulu’s crackdown on password sharing explained

The Hulu crackdown on password sharing began early this year. However, the move did not surprise many, as Netflix had already begun cracking down on password sharing in 2023.

The crackdown on password sharing aims to force freeloaders who piggyback on Hulu subscribers to get their accounts. However, the move is likely to also affect friends and family members of several subscribers.

Below, we have covered everything you need to know about the Hulu password sharing crackdown, from when it goes into effect to how it will affect active subscribers.

Hulu has introduced new terms of service to limit password sharing

Hulu updated its subscriber agreement on January 25, 2024. The new agreement included a new “Account Sharing” section prohibiting sharing passwords with other people.

A part of the agreement reads:

“Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household.”

According to Hulu, “household”, in this case, means the primary personal residence of a Hulu subscriber. Therefore, any device used by individuals living in that residence can access the subscriber’s Hulu account.

However, under the new Hulu TOS, devices for other family members, friends, or persons not living in a subscriber’s residence are banned from accessing their account.

The new Hulu subscriber agreement went into effect immediately for subscribers who joined after January 25, 2024.

However, the new rules took effect for existing subscribers on March 14, 2024, and Hulu sent emails informing users of the changes.

Part of the Hulu email informing users about the crackdown on password sharing
Part of the Hulu email informing users about the crackdown on password sharing.

A part of the email read:

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

Hulu crackdown on password sharing brought on by low subscriber numbers

Like many other streaming services, Hulu is cracking down on password sharing to increase its subscriber numbers. The company hopes more people will subscribe to the service by limiting account sharing.

The password-sharing crackdown also aims to reduce the streaming service’s losses. In the third quarter of 2023, Disney, which owns Disney +, ESPN+, and Hulu, reported a $512 million loss, with account sharing being perceived as a major reason.

Hulu hopes that its password-sharing crackdown will work well, like its rival streaming service, Netflix. In 2023, Netflix was one of the first streaming services to start banning password sharing.

While users were angry at the streaming company’s move, many ended up subscribing, with Netflix reporting a huge boost of 30 million new subscribers in 2023.

Hulu to analyze accounts to detect violations

While Hulu’s policy of banning password sharing has gone into effect, many people are still in the dark about how the company intends to enforce the new terms.

According to the new Hulu agreement, subscribers are responsible for complying with the password-sharing ban.

You will be responsible for any use of your account by your household, including compliance with this section.”

The new agreement also prohibits Hulu users from using another person’s account or password to access the service.

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You agree not to impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, including using another person’s username, password, or other account information…”

In the Agreement, Hulu also states that it may analyze a subscriber’s account use to ensure compliance with the password-sharing ban.

We may, in our sole discretion, analyze the use of your account to determine compliance with this Agreement.”

It is not clear what this entails, but Hulu will most likely analyze users’ watching habits to determine if they are violating the password-sharing ban.

They could also analyze each account’s IP address and device IDs to flag shared password instances. 

Subscribers could face consequences for sharing accounts

Hulu is very serious in its crackdown on password sharing and is threatening serious consequences to users found violating the new streaming agreement. This includes limiting access or termination of an account.

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…” part of the agreement reads.

The streaming service is also threatening more serious action:

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 “… or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement (including those set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement).”

NOTE: Section 6 of the agreement deals with suspending and terminating an account found to be violating the terms of service. It also allows Hulu to take legal action in some cases against people violating the TOS.

A section of the Hulu Subscriber agreement.
A section of the Hulu Subscriber agreement.

We also reserve the right to take appropriate legal action against you for violating intellectual property rights, fraud, or similar grounds for termination.”

It is unlikely that Hulu will sue freeloaders or subscribers for sharing passwords. However, the streaming service could argue in court that this is a fraudulent action deriving them of revenue, leading to compensation claims.

Hulu is not the only streaming service to ban password sharing

Hulu is not the only streaming service to crackdown on password sharing. In 2023, Netflix became the first company to enforce a ban on sharing account passwords.

Disney+ and ESPN+ (owned by Hulu’s parent company) also introduced a ban at the same time as Hulu.

Max users will soon face a crackdown on password sharing, with Warner Bros. Discovery expected to announce new account-sharing restrictions sometime in late 2024 or 2025.

However, several streaming services streaming services still allow users to share passwords. These include:

However, many of these streaming services limit the number of devices you can share an account with and the allowed simultaneous streams.

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