Spotify is introducing QR (quick response) code scans to verify that Premium Family subscribers live in the same household. Members have seven days after receiving a notification to complete the check, with missed verification potentially triggering account restrictions.
The process requires members to scan a code displayed on the plan manager’s phone. It refreshes every few seconds, making it harder to share a screenshot with someone elsewhere.
Members who miss the deadline can face the following consequences:
- Being locked out of their account.
- Being unable to join another Family or Duo plan for 12 months.
They can still subscribe to another Premium plan option.
Spotify’s Family plans have always been intended for people who live together, although subscribers have shared costs with friends or relatives at other addresses. The company has used several approaches to check whether members belong to the same household.
In 2018, Spotify asked Family subscribers in the U.S. and Germany to confirm their addresses using GPS (Global Positioning System) information. That approach drew objections from members because some families live in separate households.
The seven-day scan requirement can affect students living away from home, parents travelling for work and relatives who live separately. The checks target Family account sharing outside a single household, a practice subscribers have shared as a way to split subscription costs. Netflix also restricted password sharing several years ago.
