Spotify is tightening enforcement of its Premium Family rules with new verification checks designed to confirm that everyone on a plan actually lives in the same household.
The company has started asking some Family plan members to complete an in-person QR code verification with the plan manager. Users who fail the verification can lose Premium Family access and fall back to Spotify’s free, ad-supported service.
Spotify Now Requires Some Users to Scan a QR Code
Spotify already requires all Premium Family members to be family members living at the same address. Its terms also allow the company to periodically ask users to verify their home address.
The new QR system makes that requirement harder to bypass.
When Spotify requests verification, the plan manager must open the Spotify mobile app, tap their profile picture, select Your Premium, and then tap Manage to display a QR code.
The other Family member must scan that code using their own phone while both people are in the same place. Spotify says the verification works only through its mobile app.
The QR code also changes every few seconds, making it difficult to simply send someone a screenshot of it.
Users Get Seven Days to Verify
Family plan members have seven days after receiving the notification to complete the QR scan.
If they cannot complete the verification or miss the deadline, they lose access to the shared plan. Spotify also says affected users cannot join a different Family or Duo plan for 12 months.
They can instead subscribe to another eligible Premium plan. If they do not, they are moved to Spotify Free, meaning they will hear ads.
Spotify Already Used Address Checks
The household requirement itself is not new.
Spotify has already asked Family members to provide their full home address when joining a plan, when the plan manager changes their address, or when Spotify cannot confirm the address.
If an address check fails, Spotify sends an email asking the user to verify again within seven days.
A successful check keeps the account on Premium Family, while a failed check moves the member to the free version.
Spotify says it does not track users’ locations for these address checks and only checks the submitted address for verification.
The new QR system is therefore a stricter way of enforcing an existing rule: Premium Family is intended only for people who live together at the same address.
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