Spotify is cracking down on users who exploit family plan pricing

[Shawn Knight]

A hot potato: Account and password sharing is an issue that isn't unique to Spotify as services like Netflix also grapple with the matter. Spotify is morally justified in trying to restrict family plan usage to qualified participants but asking people to verify their address via GPS is only going to cause tension.

It’s been nearly four years since Spotify announced its family plan, a discounted rate that extends membership benefits to multiple listeners. Pricing initially started at $14.99 for two users but eventually, the company sweetened the deal by allowing up to six people under a single account for the same cost.

In the spirit of the plan, members of a family plan should presumably, well, be family members and according to Spotify’s terms and conditions, be living under the same roof.

According to Quartz and a few other publications, Spotify has recently been sending some family member subscribers an e-mail asking them to confirm their home address via GPS. “If you don’t confirm, you may lose access to the plan,” the message reads.

Spotify is clearly trying to crack down on users that are abusing the spirit of the family plan – say, friends that may be pitching in to lower the out-of-pocket expense versus having a single premium account. But Spotify’s approach is flawed in that it assumes all families live in the same residence. You can have family members that don’t live in your house – virtually everyone does. Just because you don’t live at the same address doesn’t mean you aren’t technically family.

Spotify says it will only use GPS data to verify a user’s location but in this day and age of heightened privacy where many are concerned with excessive data collection practices, that isn’t very reassuring.

Like other issues in tech, it's a problem without a clear solution.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/76678-spotify-cracking-down-users-who-exploit-family-plan.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

So all residence at the same apartment complex can take advantage. But family being temporarily split up, will be kicked from the deal.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I would have privacy concerns with them storing my location, even especially when they can share to a 3rd party. Although I can see the counter argument that most companies already know your street address.

Is this also saying that a school (college) student away from home wouldn't qualify either? Technically, at least as far as the government is concerned, they are still "living at home". How about a foreign exchange student? A kid who stays with their grandparents or campgrounds for the summer? I can think of numerous examples.

This sounds to be all about their love of money. Are they not getting enough profit or something? Does the MPAA RIAA really need more cash in their Scrooge McDuck vault?

 

[fimbles]

GPS spoofing is pretty beginner friendly and has many apps available. Silly idea.

 

[frostyshield]

GPS relocation apps maybe see a increase lol

 

[Thorney]

I would have privacy concerns with them storing my location, even especially when they can share to a 3rd party. Although I can see the counter argument that most companies already know your street address.

Is this also saying that a school (college) student away from home wouldn't qualify either? Technically, at least as far as the government is concerned, they are still "living at home". How about a foreign exchange student? A kid who stays with their grandparents or campgrounds for the summer? I can think of numerous examples.

This sounds to be all about their love of money. Are they not getting enough profit or something? Does the MPAA RIAA really need more cash in their Scrooge McDuck vault?

In the UK students away from home who are over 18 don't count as 'living at home' they need to pay their own taxes etc so it makes sense here so maybe its the same in Sweden. Spotify arent a US company it isn't always about the US.

 

[bobeck]

I guess the real question is why when I don't think the competition does, someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm fairly certain I remember us using amazon music unlimited family plan for a few months at the same price point for me, her and 3 kids and amazon didn't have any extra address/location hoops to jump through.

 

[Adi6293]

Why don't change it back to 2 or 3 people max?

 

[VBKing]

Go visit "home" for a bit, verify your address while there, and then leave.
They didn't say you can't use their service while away from "home", did they?

 

[Badvok]

So what they are saying is that it is a Household Plan rather than a Family Plan? Why don't they call it that then?

 

[ShagnWagn]

I would have privacy concerns with them storing my location, even especially when they can share to a 3rd party. Although I can see the counter argument that most companies already know your street address.

Is this also saying that a school (college) student away from home wouldn't qualify either? Technically, at least as far as the government is concerned, they are still "living at home". How about a foreign exchange student? A kid who stays with their grandparents or campgrounds for the summer? I can think of numerous examples.

This sounds to be all about their love of money. Are they not getting enough profit or something? Does the MPAA RIAA really need more cash in their Scrooge McDuck vault?

In the UK students away from home who are over 18 don't count as 'living at home' they need to pay their own taxes etc so it makes sense here so maybe its the same in Sweden. Spotify arent a US company it isn't always about the US.

Thank you for the education, but spotify is also available in the US, which I why I used it as a minor point.

 

[PinothyJ]

But Spotify’s approach is flawed in that it assumes all families live in the same residence.

That is the point -_-.

All the facepalms.

The point is that the members are all under the same roof. Look at it as a Landline phone that anyone in the house can use (a landline phone, for the younger readers, is a phone that is attached to the wall that you cannot take with you).

This highlighted even more in the fact that users on the family plan do not have to be family, but just have to live in the same residence according to their T&C's: "Get Premium accounts for you and up to five people who reside at your same address. Terms & Conditions apply"

I think the author has made assumptions and written an opinion piece based on those assumptions without first marking the article as such. Oh, Mr Knight, as irony would have it, this is what you would call "begging the question" .