Tell HN: Spotify says either give us your home address or you'll be charged
Starting August 04, 2021, we'll be upgrading our systems to ensure the accuracy of sales tax we
are obligated by law to collect from subscribers. If you do not update your account
information, we will charge a rate in accordance with instructions from your state tax
authority. Any changes will be applied automatically as of your next billing date after August
04, 2021.
I find it bizarre that a music streaming service needs my home address now. And they basically threat to charge me if I don't provide this information. How on earth is my home address required for me to listen to music? This even bypasses iOS's app tracking filter because this data is not collected within the app, rather the user enters their address directly on the website.Their policy says the following data is collected from users:
This is the personal data that is provided by you or collected by us to enable you to sign up
for and use the Spotify Service. Depending on the type of Spotify Service plan you sign up for,
this may include your username, email address, phone number, birth date, gender, street
address, and country.
This is on top of the usage data that they collect. According to their policy, usage data includes: Information about your type of Spotify Service plan.
Information about your interactions with the Spotify Service such as your search queries
(including the date and time of any requests you make), streaming history, playlists you
create, your library, your browsing history, and your interactions with the Spotify Service,
content, other Spotify users. This also may include details of your use of third party
applications in connection with the Spotify Service.
Inferences drawn about your interests and preferences based on your usage of the Spotify Service.
User Content (as defined in the Terms and Conditions of Use) you post to Spotify, such as photos, playlist titles, and interactions with
the Spotify Customer Service team. Please note that we will only access your camera or photos from your device if you give us permission to
do so, and we will only access images that you specifically choose to share with us and metadata related to those images, such as the type
of file and the size of the image. We will never scan or import your device’s photo library or camera roll.
Certain technical data, which may include:
URL information;
online identifiers including cookie data and IP addresses;
information about the types of devices you are using such as unique device IDs, network
connection type (e.g. wifi, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth), provider, network and device performance,
browser type, language, information enabling digital rights management, operating system, and
Spotify application version;
device attributes of devices on your wifi network that are available to connect to the
Spotify Service (such as speakers);
your non-precise location, which may be derived or inferred from certain technical data
(e.g., your IP address, language setting of your device, or payment currency), to comply with
geographic requirements in our licensing agreements, and deliver personalized content and
advertising to you; and
motion-generated or orientation-generated mobile sensor data (e.g. accelerometer or
gyroscope) required for the purposes of providing specific features of the Spotify Service to
you.