Spotify acknowledged recent reports that it is tightening rules around its Family Plan during its third‑quarter earnings call, describing the change as a “routine improvement” to its verification system. In the past few days, users noticed a new “QR code verification” process, where members of a Family Plan are asked to prove they live with the account holder by scanning a QR code displayed on the manager’s phone. According to Spotify’s support pages, the member must scan the code with their own device within seven days of receiving the notification. Missing the window means the user cannot join another Family or Duo plan for a year and must switch to an individual subscription that they pay for themselves.
The policy is intended to protect Spotify’s premium revenue by preventing adult children or friends who live apart from each other from sharing a single Family Plan at a reduced price. When an investor asked about the move during the call, co‑CEO Alex Norström downplayed it, saying it is not a crackdown but a normal upgrade of an existing feature. “Family Plan has existed for a long while. It has been around for, I think it is now close to 12, 13 years in Spotify history, and it makes up a pretty significant proportion of our subscriber base,” Norström said. “As such, it is important for us to just make sure over time that we improve the verification methods that we have. There are certainly ways, over time, to find holes around it. As that happens, we figure out how to improve it over time.” He added that the company’s efforts to verify users will be an ongoing process rather than a one‑time fix.
The change is part of Spotify’s broader strategy to grow its premium subscriber base, which remains the most profitable segment of the service. Topics: Apps, Media & Entertainment, Music, Spotify, streaming.
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Sarah Perez is a Consumer News Editor at TechCrunch. She has reported for the site since August 2011 after spending more than three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to journalism, she worked in IT across banking, retail and software. You can verify outreach from Sarah by emailing the protected address or via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.
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