HBO Max Introduces New Rules for Sharing Accounts

• HBO Max is tightening control over account sharing starting in September.
• Users will be required to pay for additional participants.
• Similar changes have already been implemented by Netflix and Disney+.
• Warner Bros. Discovery is expecting an increase in subscribers.

HBO Max announced the tightening of control over account sharing. During a conference call with investors on September 7, 2025, Jay B. Perritt, the general director of Warner Bros. Discovery, stated that the rules for sharing accounts will become more stringent next month.

Starting in September, the platform will begin using more sophisticated notifications, requiring users to pay an additional $7.99 per month to add a new participant to their account. "We are moving from soft notifications to more fixed ones, which require action from users," noted Perritt.

It is worth noting that similar measures were previously implemented by Netflix and Disney+. HBO Max began testing new rules to determine who is a legitimate user and who is not. Information about account records, IP addresses, and user activity will assist in this process.

Executives at Warner Bros. Discovery are hopeful that the new rules will help increase the number of subscribers, similar to what happened with Netflix after it implemented similar restrictions. However, an increase in subscriptions may provoke backlash among users who do not want to pay for account sharing.

Tags: Technology