According to the streaming boss of Warner Bros. Discovery, there is a risk of a crackdown on password sharing

Max subscribers, take note: Warner Bros. Discovery has its eye on password sharers.

JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at WBD, said Tuesday that the service will begin sending small reminders next week to its subscribers to tell them to share their login information with outsiders. Perrette said at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit in Rancho Palos Verde, California, that certain Max subscribers will receive “very early, soft notices” about password sharing in the next week or so.

“There is an art and a science to tightening the filter of who is in there. We’re starting with some early messaging to some people who we believe are in the higher tier of usage. From the first quarter we will offer an option to basically add a member. We then gradually, as we get the data, start to figure out how good we are at detecting with some explicit and implicit signals. And over the course of year 25, you’ll notice the filters becoming more and more stringent.”

The move follows that of rival streamers. Disney+ first mentioned last year that it would explore sharing passwords with its customers. It announced the move last spring and provided details of its plans in September. Hulu has followed in the footsteps of its sister company.

Streaming king Netflix began testing ways to limit password sharing back in 2021 and introduced a “paid sharing” plan last year. The streamer stated in June 2023 that there had been an increase in registrations following the raid.