Disney did it, Netflix is doing it, and now The New York Times is serious about it too: Quit trying to log in with your old coworker’s mom’s email address.
Wow, it finally happened. The New York Times cracked down on login sharing and now I can't use my old coworker's mom's account that I've been using for the last decade…. damn pic.twitter.com/duID3kWPsB
— Katie Notopoulos (@katienotopoulos) June 29, 2026
The Times launched Family subscriptions last fall (here). In an earnings call earlier this year, Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien described the family plans as “the carrot version of password sharing” — a method of inducing people to subscribe. (Home delivery subscribers also get bonus subscriptions to share.)
Now, though, it seems to be stick time: Use the same login on too many devices and you may need to verify with a code sent to email.
“We are always monitoring and testing new approaches with our audience, as many digital subscription businesses do,” Elizabeth Young, senior manager of communications at The New York Times, told me when I asked about the change. (She also pointed to the Times’ Terms of Service, which are unchanged and state that “you are not allowed to share your registration login credentials or give your login credentials to anyone else.”)
