- Spotify is tightening household checks for its Premium Family plan with time-sensitive QR codes, and members who miss the seven-day verification window could face a 12-month restriction on joining another Family plan.
- Both the plan manager and the member need to be in the same location to complete the verification as detailed by 9 to 5 Mac.
- The QR codes refresh every 3 seconds, making it harder to bypass the process using a screenshot.
- Spotify gives members seven days to complete the verification, in line with its requirement that Family plan members live in the same household.
- Missing the seven-day verification window could have significant consequences. Under Spotify’s terms, users who fail to complete the process may be prevented from joining another Family plan for 12 months.
- Spotify launched its Premium Family plan in 2014 for people who live together, but that hasn’t stopped some subscribers from splitting the cost with friends or relatives who live elsewhere.
- In 2018, Spotify tested a more direct approach with some Family subscribers in the U.S. and Germany.
Spotify is tightening its Premium Family plan verification process by introducing QR codes that require both the plan manager and members to be physically present to complete the verification.
Members have a seven-day window to scan the QR code, or they risk facing a 12-month ban from joining another Family plan. This new measure aims to ensure that all members genuinely reside at the same address, a requirement that has been increasingly scrutinized as subscription sharing becomes more common.
The QR code verification process is detailed on Spotify's support page, stating that both parties must be in the same location to complete the verification. Users have reported that the QR code refreshes every few seconds, complicating attempts to bypass the system through screenshots.
“Missing the seven-day verification window could have significant consequences,” warns Spotify, emphasizing that users who fail to comply will be demoted to a free plan, which includes ads.5
This crackdown follows a history of subscription sharing issues, as many users have been found splitting costs with friends or relatives who do not live together.
“I have shared my Spotify Family Plan with my actual family for about 7 years now,” one user lamented on Reddit, highlighting the challenges faced by families with members living apart.
As Spotify continues to enforce these checks, it remains to be seen how users will adapt to the new requirements.
“The QR codes refresh every 3 seconds, making screenshot workarounds ineffective, though some users have found a video-call method that appears to work. Spotify hasn't publicly announced the crackdown, suggesting it may be an experiment targeting flagged accounts.”
FirstpostDigital Trends
