Disney+ works in a similar way to Netflix. It is available in several countries and any subscriber can continue to access the service even when traveling overseas. There are no live channel feeds; instead, users access a searchable library of videos. The library can be filtered by video category or brand.
How is Disney+ different?
Most video streaming services in the world don’t allow subscribers to access videos when they are out of their home countries. Disney is like Netflix in this respect because as long as the subscriber is in a country where Disney+ operates, the member can continue to watch video streams.
Disney+ is available in the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and India. So, if a subscriber in the USA travels to Canada, access to the Disney+ website’s videos is still allowed.
One difference that members might notice is that the videos in the libraries are different in each country. In some regions of the world, the differences are hardly detectable. In each country, the videos available on the Disney+ service will be edited differently in order to comply with local laws.
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Who is Disney+ best for?
Disney+ does not include any adult content. Some of the videos include scenes of violence – for example, there are shootings and fistfights in The Mandalorian. However, the guiding content rule of Disney+ is that all of its videos should be of interest to children and young adults. Parents might find little to watch on the service once the children have gone to bed.
How to access Disney+
Disney+ is available as a website, so it can be accessed through any web browser – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari, for example. The Disney streaming service is also available as an app for Android and iOS devices (iPhones and iPads). Smart TVs can access Disney+ through Google Play and most set-top boxes that run on Android also give access to the service. Amazon Fire Cube and Amazon Fire TV Stick are pre-loaded with the Disney+ app.
Anyone can use a casting device, such as Google Chromecast to stream videos from Disney+ through a computer or mobile device onto a TV screen.
As Disney+ is not a live TV stream, all content on the site is available at any time day or night; members don’t have to check a schedule and wait for specific shows to appear.
Disney+ member settings
Each subscriber gets a profile at the Disney+ and access is controlled by a username and password. The service can be streamed on four devices simultaneously and each account can host seven profiles. This means that it is OK to share your account details with others. However, Disney expects this account sharing to be restricted to family members.
The profile of each accessor stores the person’s viewing history. The account holder is responsible for creating profiles and can designate that a new profile is for a child. This enables parents to limit the content that each user accesses. Not all of the videos on the site are suitable for small children and every video has an age rating. Setting parental controls automatically filters out PG and PG13 content.
Each profile is represented by an avatar, which is selected from a library of Disney characters. So, when each person logs into the account, the profile selection screen allows that person to enter his or her own space, which will have a tailored menu.
Like Netflix, Disney+ uses information on previously watched videos to reorder the library in the main screen of the profile, putting videos similar to those already watch ahead of all others.
