Please stop asking me to reset the password every week

[Stefpist]

I've got a Family/Premium account and the account out of the 6 that I use personally gets the password reset every week, which is a bit annoying.

I get an email saying the password needs to be reset "due to detected suspicious activity".

I connect to Spotify from my phone and my laptop, and I would guess the "suspicious" activity comes from the fact that I use my company's VPN (otherwise I couldn't work) and that changes IP/country every day, so maybe that's it.

Still, it's annoying, anyone has any ideas on how to make it stop?

Thanks

[Stefpist]

Hi there @Avith_Ortega,

Thanks for the post.

The password reset prompt comes when our system detects suspicious activity on your account. It can sometimes be triggered if you're logging in from multiple devices, like multiple new computers or phones. It can also happen if you're travelling abroad frequently, since the system would detect that you're logging in from different countries. 

In the worst case scenario, someone is trying to log in to your account multiple times with a wrong password. This can happen if your email address is leaked somewhere.

There is no way to manually stop this prompt though, as it runs on automated algorithms. 

One thing you can try is to change the email associate with your account to a new one, which you don't use for other services.

Hope this info helps.

[paulafb64]

Exactly the same thing is happening to me. It's extremely annoying, not only because I can't access my email at work to reset the password, but also (and especially) because you can't go back to passwords you've already used before, so I have to come up with new random passwords every time, which I'll most probably forget.

Spotify should fix their issue with VPNs. I don't mind them letting me know if they think there's been suspicious activity, but they shouldn't force us to change our password if we don't want to.

[Maxim]

Hey @Stefpist and @paulafb64 ,

Thanks for coming to the Spotify Community.

In this case, I recommend following the steps that are listed in the spoiler on this page.

After you've done that, we can check if it's the private network causing the issue by:

1. not using Spotify via the VPN for a day or two
2. monitoring the behaviour of the app with and without VPN

Let me know how it goes 🙂

[Stefpist]

Excuse me @Maxim, but what does exactly mean to "monitoring the behaviour of the app"?

Because first of all I am not using the app, but accessing Spotify from the web (I can't install apps on my company computer), and anyway I do use it with and without VPN depending on the work I need to do and there is no change in the so-called behavior of Spotify. 

[Maxim]

Hey @Stefpist ,

Thanks for your reply.

VPNs can cause issues such as the one you had experienced as they can mask the real IP address and the device that is being used to access your account (through the web player, in this case). Depending on the type of VPN, it might also switch between multiple IPs from different locations.

A lot of sites and services will either block known VPN IPs or it can be a reason to trigger security protocols based on location and device access. In other words, using a VPN can make the security system think that your account is being accessed by multiple unknown locations, which in turn would trigger an automated password reset to your account.

Spotify does not currently block VPN usage, but they also do not support it so they can't guarantee that the service would work as expected when using one.

[Stefpist]

Thanks Maxim for the reply, I do appreciate all of that, but I would expect a question like "Was that you?" before forcing me to change password whiteout checking with me first, like Amazon does, by the way: they check with me to make sure it's still me even if apparently.

I guess they just have better tech than Spotify does, oh well.

So bottom line there is no solution to this issue, good to know.

[Iman_ahmed_music]

I would also like a ‘was this you’ option. As I’ve now had to change my password about 10 times and it’s REEEAAALLY getting old. Not happy at all

[Avith_Ortega]

This is also happening to me every 3-4 months and also have to create new passwords evry time, I am not even using a VPN, so what is going on?

[Alex]

Hi there @Avith_Ortega,

Thanks for the post.

The password reset prompt comes when our system detects suspicious activity on your account. It can sometimes be triggered if you're logging in from multiple devices, like multiple new computers or phones. It can also happen if you're travelling abroad frequently, since the system would detect that you're logging in from different countries. 

In the worst case scenario, someone is trying to log in to your account multiple times with a wrong password. This can happen if your email address is leaked somewhere.

There is no way to manually stop this prompt though, as it runs on automated algorithms. 

One thing you can try is to change the email associate with your account to a new one, which you don't use for other services.

Hope this info helps.

[Henricus]

Spotify needs to use the "was this you" system. Changing passwords without our consent is ridiculous and is not a protective feature, it's called babying your customers and no one wants that. Just get rid of this dumb behaviour. Algorithms aren't needed for this. My account gets reset every week because apparently I can't connect to multiple devices. I myself have 3 to 4 BT devices, then there's friends family, work etc. This is just bad, period. Tell your devs to remove this "feature" and at most go with the "was this you?" feature that all other apps use and works perfectly fine.

[mklopez]

Same thing keep happening to me. A password reset, every week, since July. I've stopped using the app except in two computers (at home and at work), no longer use it on my phone or tablet, although I still listen on my Echo speakers. and as for the above mentioned suggestion of using a different email, I did that: Created a brand new address that I only use in my spotify account, and it nod not stop the problem. Time for the IT people to acknowledge this is a BUG in their system.

[artur2000]

I had the same exact issue. Weird thing is, there was no change in my Spotify usage pattern. It started happening out of the blue. I'm not even going to go through my frustration with Spotify pseudo tech support here which is a complete joke. Services such as ChatGPT would probably do better job quite honestly. As Henricus stated, certain more "tech savvy" customers are tired of treating them like a dummy. The truth is, other major services don't have such a outdated policies when comes to accessing their services. Certain users are forced to be on the company VPN, why does this even matter? Having multiple devices now days is norm too. Spotify is trying to tell their customers how they should be using their service? No, this is unacceptable. There are other means of making sure if the user logging in is the actual owner of the account. I have stopped using Spotify earlier this month because of my password was being reset every week or so for two months straight. Because I have stopped using the service... surprise.... my password resets have stopped too. I'm no longer on the premium plan either since I cannot use the service as it was intended. I have mentioned this in the other post about the same issue and I will mention it here. Spotify has to learn their lesson and don't blindly trust some amateur grade script that makes stupid decisions like this. Like mklopez said, time to acknowledge the issue. It is not one or two users that are affected. Spotify, we are just a simple paying users that simply want to enjoy the music. We don't need to know your inner workings of your algorithms and troubleshoot your issues. It is YOUR responsibility to at least tell US the users, why this happens to our accounts and what can be done for this to not happen again! 

[kirglow]

First of all, let's be nice to the support team who's been having to work with the decisions made by the product managers

Secondly, it is unacceptable to force users to change their passwords upon IP address changes. I understand the need to detect suspicious activity, and it's totally fine if using a different IP address is considered a suspicious activity. Undoubtedly Spotify's understandable intent with this feature is to reduce situations where hacking leads to the loss of Spotify accounts. However, the user must be able to make a determination whether the IP change is a genuine hacking activity or expected due to VPN or using Spotify in different physical locations. As it stands, this must be considered a serious bug that severely inconveniences many use cases of the app, and, in fact, undermines the security for 2 reasons:

1. VPN is an important security measure, and even if it is unsupported, it should not be severely inconvenienced, thereby discouraging the use of VPN, thereby reducing security

2. Having to frequently change and re-type the passwords on all devices leads to more occasions where the password may be leaked

I've been a loyal customer of Spotify who's been a Premium subscriber and a supporter the platform for years. I've experienced a number of issues through the years, and stayed with the platform through it all. But with this new behavior, I do not think I can continue to experience this and stick with it much longer. If this is not addressed soon and if the Spotify continues to undermine my security and security options, I will be forced to switch to an alternative

[Budum]

I have been having same issue for ~6 months now on one of my family accounts. I use it solely at work, always from same IP. So, VPN or changing IP, which should still be allowed, are not the root cause in my case. Spotify support was a waste of 30 min. Walked me through signing off all accounts and changing password with a promise force password reset won't re-occur. Sorry, but it does and it super annoying.

Seeing report for same issue dated 2019, does not look like Spotify sees this as a problem. Well, it is for me. Looking if there is another service that does not force me go through reset every week, at least convenient times. 

[jacksjadedness]

I'm experiencing the same issues—I've faced them at least 10 times this summer, and yet again today, on a Premium Duo account, no less.

Clicking the "Reset your password" email/link also fails about half the time. This is because, for some reason, <some_subdomain>.spotify.com triggers Brave's Shields. Now, why is that? It's suspicious, to say the least. As a paying customer, the last thing I expect from an expensive subscription service is to be tracked like some sort of product.

This cavalier approach has become endemic in "big tech" (the publicly traded tech sector). It's as if breaking and entering into users' space by forcibly manipulating browsers or permissions is considered normal professional practice. This needs to stop—it's getting out of control.

I'm sincerely surprised that Spotify engages in such intrusive technical patterns, compromising user integrity. In other areas, the company is among the most ethical in the industry.

Tangentially—but perhaps not unrelated in a zero-sum world—extremely poor and dumbed-down feature sets don't make the service any more appealing. Compared to basic legacy music apps like iTunes (where are the smart playlists/folders?) and Winamp (why no metadata view control? why so little meta filtering?), Spotify falls short. And let's not forget that dreaded 10,000-song limit.

So, if you're offering the bare minimum at a steep price, while also making it difficult for me to use your service… Well, let's just say there's a limit to what you can get away with, and you've just reached it with me.

Therefore, I'm voting with my wallet and my feet. I'll keep an eye on how Spotify evolves, but the chances of me returning are slim unless significant changes are made.

[Axolotl_FI]

Having the very same problem, have to change my password, and then relogin on ALL my devices, which in change, triggers the password reset all over again and so on...

Wrote a ticket to support and their answer was pretty much "Don't use VPN then."
Really Spotify, so your official answer is that one should sacrifice privacy and safety just because you are too lazy, or incompetent to implement a simple "Was this you?" Button instead of relying on automatic algorithms blindly, that obviously have many false positives?
This has become so annoying, that I am seriously considering cancelling my family account and just move to Tidal or Deezer with higher audio quality, and no such problems.

[mklopez]

Just a quick update: Still having the problem. They say the technical team (?) is reviewing the problem, but not solution yet.

Meanwhile, I still get a password reset every week, on the same day, and around the same time of day. It's gotten to a point that I'm just adding a dash and number (-1, -2, etc) to the same password I use every week. Currently I'm up to "-26".

[sabujp]

+1 this keeps happening to me and I'm not using a VPN. Oh well I'll keep generating new passwords using my password manager. I guess whatever "suspicious activity" detection software is being used is just faulty but only for a small percentage of users using a "non-standard" combination of desktop and mobile operating modes.

[ckir03]

Also began having the same issues as others in this thread 2 weeks ago with no change in devices, networks, etc. and recently changed the associated email address with the hope weekly password resets every Monday by Spotify cease.  The only odd thing I noticed before the problem began was that a user named MR. SMITH following over 10K other people and 0 followers added me.  If this is some sort of throttling measure for heavier users definitely not okay, especially after the recent subscription price increase.

[mklopez]

Six months after I reported this issue to support, still no resolution. 

The only way I've found to palliate the problem is to change my password myself, before it resets. Since the resets happen about the same time every week, a few hours before I go to my account page and change it. Been doing this for a few weeks now, and it prevents the automatic reset from happening. Also, my sessions in my apps (both PC and mobile) keep working, and I avoid having to reauthorize other services like Alexa. Yeah, is a palliative, no a solution, but helps.