JioHotstar (Prev. Disney+ Hotstar)
Limit account sharing to drive revenue growth
Business Challenge
Account sharing is a persistent challenge across the industry, where multiple users often access premium content/features through a single paid subscription. While convenient for consumers, this behavior can lead to revenue leakage, inaccurate user insights, and reduced subscription growth. As JioHotstar continued to scale, addressing this challenge became an important business priority, creating an opportunity to balance revenue protection with a seamless user experience.
The Authentication Advantage
JioHotstar's OTP-based authentication model already created a meaningful barrier to account sharing. Unlike password-based systems, where credentials can be shared once and used repeatedly, OTPs are time-sensitive and require access to the account owner's device. This introduces friction into the sharing journey, making unauthorized access less seamless and more dependent on real-time coordination. While account sharing still existed, the authentication model gave us a strong starting point for designing solutions that balanced business objectives with a low-friction user experience.
V0 : AUto logout experiment
As an initial experiment, we explored a lightweight approach to managing excessive device usage without introducing additional friction into the login experience. When an account exceeded its allowed device limit, the system would automatically log out the least recently active device instead of blocking access for the current user.
The hypothesis was that many accounts accumulate inactive or forgotten devices over time, artificially inflating the number of active sessions. By automatically removing devices that had not been used for an extended period, we could free up available slots for legitimate users while minimizing disruption. This approach allowed us to address a subset of account-sharing scenarios with minimal user intervention.
However, the experiment quickly revealed several challenges.
The biggest issue was a lack of user control. Users had no visibility into which device would be removed or why it happened. According to the UX principle of Reactance, people are less likely to accept a system's decision when they feel it has been imposed on them without choice. Although the logout logic was technically sound, the experience often felt arbitrary from the user's perspective.
This was reflected in user feedback. Many subscribers reported that their devices were being logged out "for no reason" and expressed frustration at having to repeatedly authenticate and restore access. What was intended as a seamless solution was increasingly perceived as an unexpected interruption to their viewing experience, negatively impacting user satisfaction and NPS.
From a business perspective, we also realized we were missing an important opportunity. Users who consistently exceeded their device limits were demonstrating a clear need for additional access. Instead of automatically removing devices, we could have used this moment to educate users about plan limitations and present relevant upgrade options. By silently resolving the issue in the background, we reduced friction in the short term but lost a valuable opportunity to drive plan upgrades and revenue growth.
While the experiment helped reduce inactive device clutter, it became clear that solving account sharing would require a more transparent, user-driven approach—one that balanced user control, business objectives, and a seamless viewing experience.
Reframing the Problem
The experiment made one thing clear: the challenge wasn't simply about reducing the number of devices on an account. It was about helping users understand and manage access in a way that felt transparent, intentional, and fair.
We needed a solution that gave users control over their devices instead of making decisions on their behalf. At the same time, the experience needed to clearly communicate plan limitations, reduce confusion around device access, and create meaningful opportunities for users to upgrade when their needs exceeded the capabilities of their current plan.
This led us to the following problem statement:
How might we help users manage device limits and account access in a transparent, user-controlled way, while reducing account sharing and creating opportunities for subscription upgrades?
Possoble solutions
With a clear problem statement in place, we explored multiple approaches to reduce account sharing. Each solution was evaluated based on three factors: user experience, business impact, and implementation feasibility.
Registered Devices ❌
Concept:
Users register devices during subscription purchase and can only access content on approved devices.
Pros:
• Strong control over account access.
• Effectively reduces sharing.
Challenges:
• Adds onboarding friction.
• Privacy concerns around device registration.
• Reduces flexibility to watch from any device.
Decision
• Too restrictive for a consumer streaming platform.
2. Watch Restriction ❌
Concept:
Allow login on any device, but enforce limits when the user starts watching content.
Pros:
• Flexible login experience.
• Minimal friction upfront.
Challenges:
• Interrupts users at the moment of highest intent.
• Creates frustration when users are ready to watch.
Decision:
The enforcement came too late in the journey, negatively impacting the viewing experience.
3. Login Restriction ✅
Concept:
Enforce device limits during login and allow users to manage active devices before accessing the account.
Pros:
• Transparent communication of device limits.
• Gives users control over active devices.
• Creates opportunities for plan upgrades.
Challenges:
• Adds friction during login.
• Requires clear communication and device management flows.
Decision:
Provided the best balance between user experience, business goals, and account-sharing prevention, making it the direction we chose to pursue.
More details coming soon…
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© Savan Makadiya 2026