The War Against Sharing Streaming Site Logins Has Begun

It's coming, everybody. By the end of 2019, we'll be inundated with an overwhelming amount of new streaming services, from Apple TV+ to Disney+ to all the other pluses, and more are on their way next year. But it looks like your diabolical plan to get each member of your extended family to pay for one new service and swap logins like some kind of streaming potluck isn't exactly going to work out—because Disney has just launched an all-out war against sharing logins, apparently.

According to Ars Technica, Disney and cable provider Charter Communications have teamed up to "begin an important collaborative effort to address the significant issue of piracy mitigation," the companies said in a statement. And, yes, the piracy they're talking about is you using your college-aged brother's Hulu login. "The two companies will work together to implement business rules and techniques to address such issues as unauthorized access and password sharing," the statement continued.

It's unclear what, exactly, those rules and techniques entail, and Charter declined to go into specifics when Ars Technica asked for clarification, but the message is clear: You better buy your own Disney+ account if you want to watch The Mandalorian or whatever.

As Ars Technica points out, both Netflix and Hulu already have a cap on the amount of people who can stream content simultaneously on their services, but if Disney has really decided that all password sharing is "piracy," then Hulu might soon get even more strict. And, judging by how things are going in this increasingly crowded streaming market, it's probably just a matter of time before all the other streamers get in on this, too.

Enjoy using your ex-girlfriend's family's prized Xfinity login while you still can, everybody. You've been warned.