- Spotify is rolling out a new verification process for Premium Family members
- Users must now scan the account manager's QR code to confirm they're part of the same household
- Spotify will boot you back to the free tier and give you a 12-month Premium Family ban if you fail to verify
The Netflix password-sharing crackdown is rubbing off on one of the best music streaming services — now Spotify is taking its own approach to putting a stop to Premium Family plan sharing.
Spotify is enforcing this via a new QR code verification system, which has started rolling out to a number of users if they’re not at the same address as the account manager. The QR code appears on the account holder’s device, requiring those under the plan to scan it in order to verify that you’re living in the same household. This code updates every few seconds, making it harder for users to use screenshots to bypass the process.
The platform goes into the verification process in detail on its support page, clarifying that it doesn’t use location tracking but instead checks your address to verify it’s the same one as the account manager’s. Additionally, Spotify states that ‘both the manager and member need to be in the same place to complete the scan’.
If you receive a verification prompt, you’ll have a 7-day window to complete the scan, but failure to comply comes with consequences. Spotify will boot you back to ad-listening on the free tier as well as banning you from joining another Premium Family or Duo plan for 12 months. It really does feel like a prison sentence.
Spotify Family Plan crackdown?from r/truespotify
As you can imagine, users are beyond frustrated with Spotify’s latest move, and despite not being on the Premium Family plan myself, even I can’t fathom the ridiculousness of it all.
We don’t know if this is region-specific, but a number of users on Reddit have received verification prompts despite there being no formal announcement from the company. ‘Self sabotage by Spotify. If I have to do this more than once for my kids that live at home I'm shutting it down,’ an angry Redditor posted.
One of the many users' frustrations is with, of course, money. By limiting Premium Family as a solely household plan, Spotify will drive a huge number of users out of the grouped plan and leave them with no option but to sign up to Premium Individual.
This plan is priced at $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$15.99 a month, while Premium Family is $21.99 / £21.99 / AU$25.99 a month and includes up to six individual accounts — which is roughly $3.665 / £3.665 / AU$4.331 per individual account. The more users Spotify can force into Premium Individual accounts, the more subscription revenue it can generate, but it’s so much more than money.
For me, the most ridiculous part is Spotify’s narrow definition of what a ‘family’ is, as a large majority of Premium Family users are members who have moved out of their parents’ home but are still on the same plan — for example, students who move away from home to study. So, in Spotify’s eyes, these types of families are essentially considered lesser than a family whose members still live under the same roof.
Equally, Spotify’s Premium Family plan has been helpful for adults to guide their not-so-tech literate elderly parents through navigating digital streaming, as another Redditor highlights. Someone takes control of the account, sets up a profile for their parents, shows them the ropes, and lets them listen away. Not only does the verification remove this, it also gets rid of the novelty of families comparing their music tastes and reminiscing about their old favourites together.
It has to be said that until now, Spotify has been on its best behavior and even rolled out helpful tools to exclude your kids’ music from your recommendations, which has been welcomed by Premium Family members — but the new verification process just feels like one step forward, three steps back. In that case, Spotify should rebrand Premium Family to 'Premium Household' to avoid confusion.
We’ve reached out to Spotify for further comment, and will update this story if/ when we hear back.