HBO Max plans aggressive crack down on password sharing starting next month

Another major streaming platform is set to crack down on password sharing. JB Perrette, head of streaming and gaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, just told investors that HBO Max will begin an "aggressive" messaging campaign about the practice beginning next month, according to an earnings report.

Beyond stricter messaging, the company is looking to close any and all loopholes that allow users to share account passwords by the end of the year. Perette said the company has been testing to determine “who’s a legitimate user who may not be a legitimate user." 

“The message language right now has been a fairly soft, cancelable message,” he said. It will “start to get more fixed and such that people have to take action as opposed to right now sort of having to be a voluntary process.”

The company hopes that these actions will reap financial rewards, with Perette saying that “the real benefit will start probably in the fourth quarter and then kick in in 2026.” This isn't a desperation move. HBO Max has actually been doing pretty well, despite consistent name changes, as it added 3.4 million new subscribers this quarter.

HBO Max is just the latest streamer to put the kibosh on password sharing. Netflix ended the practice back in 2023 and Disney+ performed its own crack down on the practice last year.

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