Disney Plus Downloads Will Disappear From Devices If They Leave the Service

Despite what we reportedly previously about Disney Plus, it turns out that shows and movies downloaded in the Disney Plus app do not stay on your device if the content is removed from Disney Plus. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger had previously said that, “If you’re a subscriber, you can download it and put it on a device, and it will stay on the device as long as you continue to subscribe." 

However, Disney itself clarified Iger's statement, telling The Verge that Iger's comments were misconstrued (not Disney's words). According to Disney, Iger apparently intended to convey the message that Disney Plus gives subscribers the ability to download films and TV programs previously locked inside the "Disney Vault." 

Beginning in the 1980s, some of the most famous Disney kids' movies have been released to home video for only a couple of years at a time, then taken off the market for up to a decade until the next generation of young kids come along. But Disney Plus changes that dynamic, giving you access to the Vault.

Some of those films that Disney has ripped from Netflix will be coming back. A Bloomberg report notes that Disney films released between January 2016 and December 2018 — a list that includes everything from Black Panther and Coco to Ralph Breaks the Internet and Mary Poppins Returns — will return to Netflix in 2026.

Disney's library is the biggest weapon in the Disney Plus strategy. While Apple will offer its own original programming on Apple TV Plus, it has no back catalog that fans are enamored with. 

Wondering what Disney is bringing out of the vault? This 3-plus-hour-long trailer will give you time to chew on its decades of content.

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