Spotify has started asking members of its Premium Family plans to prove they live at the same address as the account manager. Users who receive a prompt have seven days to complete the check, which means scanning a QR code displayed on the account holder's device. The code refreshes every few seconds, so a screenshot sent to someone elsewhere will not work. Spotify's support page says both people must be physically together for the scan to go through. TechRadar says the prompts are reaching a number of users without a formal announcement from the company, and it is unclear whether the rollout is limited to certain regions.
If the check is not completed in time, the account is moved back to the free tier, which carries advertisements, and the user cannot join another Premium Family or Duo plan for 12 months. Spider's Web reports that during that year the penalised user can only buy a full-price individual subscription. ABC describes the sanction as a one-year limit on the account for shared plans. Spotify told BFM Tech that it is reviewing Family subscriptions to make sure they are used only by the main account holder and people living at the same address, in line with its terms and conditions.
Spider's Web notes that Family plans have required a shared address since 2014. ABC says the earlier verification asked for confirmation of the home address but did not track location, which it calls the main difference with the new system. Spider's Web recalls that in 2018 Spotify tested GPS location checks in Germany and the United States, a move that drew accusations of surveillance. The QR system, the outlet says, is meant to confirm physical presence in one room without tracking a position on a map. TechRadar also cites Spotify's support page as saying the company does not use location tracking.
Spider's Web reports that some Reddit users have found a way around the check by starting a video call and holding the QR code up to the camera of the second device for a live scan. TechRadar argues the limit could push many users off the family plan and onto Premium Individual. Spider's Web warns that genuine families could also be caught, including students who live in another city and divorced parents sharing custody. TechRadar lists Premium Family at $21.99 a month for up to six accounts, against $12.99 for Premium Individual, while ABC gives the Spanish price of the family plan as 20,99 euros a month.
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Members of Spotify Premium Family plans must scan a QR code shown on the account holder's device within seven days. Those who do not are moved to the free tier and barred from joining another family or duo plan for 12 months.
AI text based on reports by BFMTV, ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL, TechRadar and other publishers. Published .