Spotify is making it harder to share a Premium Family plan with people who live elsewhere. The company is asking some members to prove they share a home with the plan owner, using a QR code check on their phones.
How the new check works
Spotify’s Family plan has always been meant for up to six people living at the same address. Until now, enforcement mostly relied on members entering a home address when they join, or when the plan owner changes location. The new step adds a live check. The plan owner opens the Spotify app, goes to Your Premium, selects Manage and generates a QR code. The member then scans it with their own phone.
The code refreshes every few seconds, and Spotify’s instructions say the owner and member need to be in the same place to finish the check. Entering the same address on two accounts may no longer be enough. Spotify says only some members will be asked to verify, not everyone on a plan.
Seven days to comply
Members who are asked to verify get a notification and have seven days to scan the code. Those who miss the deadline or fail the check lose their place on the plan. They are also barred from joining another Family or Duo plan for one year, which pushes them towards an individual subscription. One report says affected members drop to the free, ad-supported version of Spotify instead.
Spotify’s explanation
The company confirmed the rollout on its third-quarter earnings call. Co-CEO Alex Norström rejected the word crackdown and described the change as a routine improvement to its verification methods. He also indicated the checks have no end date and will keep evolving as users find workarounds. Spotify expects the move to lift paid subscriptions, since people who can no longer share a plan may need their own.
Complaints from users
Early reports from subscribers show some friction. Several people on Spotify’s own community forum say family members were removed without warning, including long-standing members who joined years ago and never entered an address. Some say they missed a verification email, and one parent said a teenage son was locked out for a year as a result. A few users report that Spotify support restored their access after they updated their address and contacted the company, so it is worth appealing if you are affected.
What it means for you
If you share a Family plan with relatives under one roof, the check should be quick. If you share it with a friend or a relative in another city, expect trouble. Plan owners should confirm that the address on file is current and that everyone has a working email, so a verification notice is not missed.
This follows a pattern seen across streaming. Video services have already tightened household rules, and Spotify is now doing the same for music.
