‘Insane levels of greed’: Spotify users make their voices heard as the platform cracks down on family sharing plans

Spotify is cracking down on account sharing with a new verification process that’s set to catch out users on the family plan who aren’t in the same household. The controversial change has led to outcry from listeners, with some swearing they will no longer use the music streaming service while others accused the company of pure greed.

Changes to the premium family plan may affect how listeners can use Spotify from now on. In a statement to TechRadar, a spokesperson for the platform said, “Household plans are for people who live at the same address as the primary account holder, as set out in our terms and conditions. We continue to look at ways to make sure our plans are used as intended.”

According to the outlet, Spotify, which celebrated its 20th birthday this year, is now bringing out a QR code verification system which will verify if users on a household/family plan are at the same address. The way the system works is by having the QR code appear on the account holder’s device. Other users on the family plan then have to scan the QR code with their device. To prevent people from getting around the system, the code updates every few seconds, which means screenshotting the code and sending it isn’t an option.

Spotify users call out the company

There has been a strong backlash against the new policy online, with users likening it to how Netflix clamped down on password sharing a few years ago. 

TikToker Darren Francis claimed he wasn’t even aware of the same household rule and accused Spotify of making up the rule. “This is just insane levels of greed,” Francis said; meanwhile, one X account claimed that it shouldn’t be called a “family plan,” writing, “clearly the idiots at Spotify think that siblings that live in separate addresses are no longer family.”

While it has been marketed as a family plan, the terms and conditions of the service dictate that users have to reside at the same address. However, another X account had a simpler take: “You’re paying for it. You should be able to share your Spotify Premium Family plan with anyone else you want to,” they wrote.

The verification prompt allegedly appears if Spotify senses that users are not at the same location, which has raised concerns that the app is tracking users. Once the prompt appears, users have seven days to scan the code before being kicked off of premium and put on the ad-listening, free tier version. Users will also receive a 12-month ban from shared accounts like the family plan or duo.

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