A complete guide to sharing HBO passwords

It’s April, and a very specific chill lingers in the air: Game of Thrones Season 8 is about to premiere, and your tragic ass doesn’t have an HBO account. 

Luckily, someone you know almost certainly does have an account. The only real question then is just how cool HBO is with people sharing passwords. The short answer? Kinda. The long answer? Well, we’ll get to that.

The first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones is set to drop on April 14, at which point a large number of people will remember that they do not, in fact, have access to HBO’s content. No cable package, no HBO GO, and no HBO NOW. And, just as quickly, they will remember that a friend does. 

Problem solved, right? A text message or phone call later, and you’re account sharing your way to TV bliss. 

Not so fast. 

The network has policies covering that very situation, and, unfortunately for you, they may not exactly come down in your favor. Thankfully, we’re here to help you sort through the madness and determine when it’s OK to share. After all, no one wants you pirating the damn thing. 

Wait, what’s HBO NOW again?

Before we get too deep, it’s worth noting the distinction between HBO NOW and HBO GO. HBO NOW is a $14.99-a-month standalone streaming service that you pay for independently of any cable subscription. HBO GO, on the other hand, is the streaming element of your cable HBO package. 

A look at the company’s website suggests the account-sharing policies of the two services are the same, and an HBO spokesperson confirmed via email that at least some of them — such as how many simultaneous streams you can have and who, technically, an account is “for” — match up.

These details, plus public information already out in the world, are enough to give us a pretty good idea as to the company’s views on what is and is not appropriate freeloading. 

Defining a household

Image: HELEN SLOANE / HBO

Despite what you may think, HBO does not actually ban account sharing. Instead, the company’s policies seek to limit it in a rather opaque manner. 

“Your HBO NOW email and password should not be shared with anyone outside your household,” reads the HBO NOW help center. 

Notice, that statement implies it’s fine for people to share their HBO NOW email and password within their households. But what’s a household, exactly, in the eyes of HBO? Is it three adults sharing an apartment, parents and their children away at college, neither, both, or something else entirely?

HBO provided some clarification. A spokesperson confirmed that “an account is for residents of the household,” and noted that a “college student temporarily away from home would be included.” We asked if a bunch of adult roomies living together count as a household — which we imagine they would — but unfortunately didn’t get an answer to that question. 

Importantly, the fact that college students away at the dorms are fair game for mooching off their parents suggests that being in far-flung locales isn’t a disqualifying factor. 

Yup, multiple devices are fine

HBO is totally cool with different devices on the same account streaming their sweet Game of Thrones content simultaneously. You just need to convince your fellow household members that you are a trusted individual, because, according to the aforementioned spokesperson, “usage is limited to 3 simultaneous streams.”

Usage is limited to 3 simultaneous streams

In other words, keep that password locked down or one night you may find yourself the fourth person attempting to watch a show. 

“If you share your HBO NOW email and password,” the help center explains, “you might not be able to watch HBO NOW because too many people are using your account at the same time.”

That makes sense. HBO has an incentive to keep account sharing to a minimum, while at the same time not alienating its paying customers who just truly go to separate rooms to watch different shows because they can’t stand being near the other people in their household.

Watch away

HBO would certainly love for everyone to pay full price for its streaming services. However, back in the Stone Age of 2014, then CEO Richard Plepler told BuzzFeed that he viewed account sharing as a “terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers.” 

It’s unclear if Plepler’s subsequent departure and HBO’s new AT&T overlords mean that reality has changed, but the fantasy world of Game of Thrones is not exactly about embracing reality. 

So bask in that “household” account warmth this April 14, and just keep telling yourself that HBO-sharing winter will never come. That will probably work out just fine.