Spotify uses QR codes to check that Family plan members live together
Spotify is asking some Family plan members to scan a QR code to prove they live with the plan's manager, The Verge and Engadget reported. Members who miss the seven-day window can be locked out for a year. Co-CEO Alex Norström called it a "routine improvement" on an earnings call.
Spotify is checking whether people on its Family plan really live together, according to The Verge and Engadget. It is using a new QR code system to do it.
Spotify said on a support page that it may ask Premium Family members to prove they live with the plan's manager, Engadget reported. They do this by scanning a QR code on the manager's phone, The Verge said.
After Spotify sends the request, the member has seven days to scan the code, Engadget reported. If they don't, they may be locked out. They then can't join another Family or Duo plan for a year, according to Engadget. The Verge reported the same 12-month ban.
Co-CEO Alex Norström talked about the change on the company's earnings call this week, The Verge and Engadget reported. He was asked about a "crackdown."
"This is not as much a crackdown as it is actually a routine improvement of our verification methods for our Family Plan," Norström said, according to The Verge and Engadget. He said the plan has been around for about 12 or 13 years. It makes up "a pretty significant proportion of our subscriber base," he said.
"There are certainly ways, over time, to find holes around it," he said. "As that happens, we figure out how to improve it over time." He said the work has no end date.
The codes refresh every few seconds, The Verge reported. Engadget said Spotify has tried to stop people from using screenshots of the codes. Some Reddit users said they got around the system with video calls on a second device, Engadget reported.
People who leave a Family plan can sign up for their own Premium plan, Engadget reported. A single plan costs $13 a month. A Family plan costs $22 and covers up to six accounts.
This isn't the first time Spotify has tried to limit sharing on Family plans, The Verge reported. Spotify says the plans are only for people in the same home. Other streaming companies have also added family plans and extra fees for people who don't live with the main account holder, Engadget said.
What we know: Spotify is using QR codes to check where Family plan members live.
What we don't: How many members have been asked to scan or have been locked out.
Where outlets agree The Verge and Engadget report that Spotify is using QR code checks on Family plans and that members who miss the window can't join another Family or Duo plan for a year.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.