HBO Max begins tougher account‑sharing enforcement after recent warnings

HBO Max is finally making good on its promise to crack down on password sharing, and users are finding out the hard way.

Over the past few weeks, people have started getting hit with a new message when they try to log in: “It seems like this HBO Max account belongs to someone else.” The prompt offers two buttons — Subscribe Now or Sign Out — along with options to say whether you’re home or traveling. Slowly but surely, Reddit threads are filling up with complaints from users who suddenly can’t watch their shows anymore. One user even shared an image they captured highlighting the message they now see:

Of course, this isn’t surprising. Back in August, Fortune reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was gearing up for what executives called “aggressive” enforcement starting in September. JB Perrette, who heads up streaming for the company, told Variety that after months of testing, they were ready to move from gentle warnings to actual enforcement. Looks like that time has come.

Reports suggest that the enforcement is hitting multiple platforms, including TVs and computers. One user posted on Reddit about getting locked out on their laptop right after being blocked on their TV.

They pointed out that Netflix and Disney still let people watch on computers regardless of location, but HBO Max apparently isn’t playing that game. The service seems to be tracking IP addresses to figure out who’s actually in the paying subscriber’s household.

HBO Max isn’t breaking new ground here. Netflix started this whole thing back in 2023 and added something like 6 million subscribers in the quarter after they started enforcing it. Disney rolled out similar rules last year, around the same time, across all their platforms. Now every streaming service is jumping on board. Back in 2021, a Citi equity analyst reportedly estimated that password sharing costs the streaming business up to $25 billion a year, so the motivation is pretty clear.

There is a workaround if you want to stay legal about it. HBO Max lets account holders add an “Extra Member” for $7.99 a month, but only if you’re paying through HBO directly — not through an app store or your cable company.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, HBO Max subscribers aren’t happy one bit about this crackdown. Some affected users are also venting their frustrations. One person tweeted, “HBO Max is trippin about password sharing now? Tf is the point of having multiple profiles if i can’t put fam and friends on there.”

Another Reddit commenter noted: “All the apps are following the Netflix model. Keep it for what you need, or become a sailor.”

That last comment gets at something real. Some people will pay up and subscribe. Others will just cancel and find other ways to watch (pirated content websites and torrents). The streaming companies are betting more people will do the former, but we’ll have to wait and see if that actually pans out.

It seems the enforcement hasn’t yet reached a wider audience just yet, but when it does, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see numerous threads and posts start appearing on X and Reddit.