Housemates face 12 month ban from Spotify shared plans after missing 7 day scan
Users have seven days to verify their address with a physical scan or face a 12-month ban from new plans.
By Tunde Bailey ·
Spotify subscribers on Family and Duo plans now face a new requirement: scan a QR code in person on the plan manager’s device. This change forces users to physically verify they live at the same address to keep their paid status.
The window for compliance is seven days. If a user fails to scan the address-verification code within that period, their account drops to the free tier. They also lose the ability to join any other Duo or Family plan for 12 months.
Spotify’s support documentation confirms the new policy. The update followed reports from users on Reddit who shared screenshots of the QR prompt appearing in their accounts.
The move enforces an existing rule stating that all members of a shared plan must reside at the same address. While the rule has been in place for years, enforcement was previously minimal. This new verification step targets households that do not fit the standard model, such as college students living away from home or spouses who travel for work.
The crackdown may impact more than just friends sharing accounts to save money. Legitimate families with members living apart may find themselves caught in the verification process. Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted in an October 15 report that a meaningful share of family plan users are friends rather than household members.
In that report, titled 'Music in the Air: 10 Years On,' Goldman Sachs estimated that tightening household verification offers additional monetization upside. The bank noted that while most family plans require cohabitation, actual enforcement had been lax until now.
Spotify is closing the gap between its written rules and how they have been applied. The in-person QR scan serves as the new mechanism for that enforcement.
