Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max joins the password-sharing crackdown

The password sharing crackdown has come for Max users.

On Tuesday, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streaming service said it is implementing an option for its subscribers to add friends and out-of-home family members to their plans.

Max will allow each subscription account to add one person who does not live in their household for $7.99 a month. The users must live in the same country.

The push comes as streamers are looking for ways to make their businesses more profitable, as they continue to add content to their services. Max streams critically acclaimed shows including HBO dramas “The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us.”

Popular Max originals include “Hacks” and “The Pitt.”

JB Perrette, chief executive and president of Warner Bros Discovery’s global streaming division, said the option was “designed to help viewers with a new way to enjoy our best-in-class content at an exceptional value, and offer subscribers greater flexibility in managing their accounts.”

Streaming services’ user terms tend to only allow people to share passwords with people who live with them. But as the streaming wars took off, password sharing between significant others and parents and their adult children became rampant.

In the beginning, many streamers were focused on growth and creating the biggest audience for their programs and were more tolerant of password sharing. But as investors began to put more pressure on streaming services to increase profits, businesses including Netflix began to take a harder line.

Netflix was the leader in offering options for subscribers to add non-household members to an existing plan, which was successful in boosting revenues for the Los Gatos-based streamer.

Netflix tested this out in select international markets first before implementing it in the U.S. in 2023. The company in 2022 estimated that more than 100 million nonpaying households were using its service. In 2024, Disney+ and Hulu cracked down on password sharing, offering a similar option to customers.