Can you share your Hulu password? Here’s what you should know

Given Netflix’s controversial crackdown on password sharing, you might be wondering if Hulu is taking the same strict approach to restricting moochers on its platform. The answer is simple on the surface: the company says its plans are for single-household use only, but it also makes no effort to ban accounts shared between two different households. That being said, things aren’t quite as simple as they seem, and Hulu has implemented several restrictions that make sharing with people outside of your household a hassle.

At its heart is how Hulu’s service works — it’s no longer a simple on-demand streaming platform, but instead also offers a live-streaming television service similar to that of Sling TV and Philo. While it’s easy enough to share a standalone on-demand plan where, among other things, you can only watch content that’s already aired, problems can arise if you’re trying to share an account that the Live TV Plan was added to the mix.

Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock

On an FAQ page, Hulu specifically says its service is intended for single-household use only. Browsing through the company’s terms of service reveals Hulu’s full policy, and while the company doesn’t want you to share your password with anyone else, the language used seems to indicate that the company knows you can still do so. The policy states:

“Only people who have registered for a Hulu account … are authorized to use the relevant services. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your username and password and for all activities that occur on or through your Hulu account. However, if you allow others to access your Hulu account, this Agreement, and any specific consents you may have given us, also governs their access, use, and disclosure of information.”

Of course, there is an important difference between sharing the account with someone who lives at home and someone who lives elsewhere. Instead of trying to use complicated methods to discourage its customers from sharing their passwords outside the home, the company has seemingly simply added some restrictions and requirements that make it less appealing than paying for a subscription.

If you’re on the basic On-Demand Hulu plan, you can share your password with someone who lives outside of your household, at least in the sense that at the time of writing it doesn’t typically result in an account lockout. However, the Hulu Plus Live TV plan is handled differently. Because live TV includes local channels, you must link the account to your home network within 30 days of signing up and can only change it up to four times a year.

If the other person on your account lives in a different state, this could be a problem for them. Without local channels, this person cannot watch their local news and weather broadcasts, and also misses things like soccer games that are broadcast on local networks. Additionally, Hulu limits simultaneous streams to only two screens. Although Live TV subscribers have the option to pay more for the Unlimited Screens add-on, that doesn’t help when it comes to streaming outside of your home network.

Hulu also requires its Live TV subscribers to check in on their home network every 30 days, which is as simple as using the app on your home network. This isn’t a big deal if you tune in regularly from home, but could be a problem for the other person if you can’t check in. On-demand streaming is still available, but live TV will not work until check-in resumes.

If you share your Hulu account with someone in your household, you can log their devices into your account, meaning you don’t have to share your credentials directly. Once that person is logged in, they can use their own profile to stream content, keeping their habits well separated from your own. This person sees their own personalized recommendations and has their own viewing history.

Sharing your credentials with someone outside of your household is different than simply creating a profile for them on your account. Because this person knows your email address and password, they can log into your account in a web browser and have full access to all settings. This is risky because as mentioned above in the Hulu Terms of Service, if that person breaks the rules with a bannable offense, you are responsible for whatever they did with the account and could end up being taken off the platform be locked as a result of their actions.