[Desktop][Connect] Remove the facebook panel

[GubmentCheez]

This is now mandatory for people who aren't interested in using it. Clicking the button opens a facebook login page which facebook uses to track, even if you are not a facebook member.

My idea is to remove this forced feature from spotify. At the bare minimum make it opt-in only. When we first open the app, ask if we want to connect to Facebook in the pane, then have the pane go away if we decline. In the options have a setting for facebook login that will re-enable this pane if anyone wants to use it.

[hahafapu]

Same. I was about to cancel my subscription because of how annoying it is. Not intuitive or user friendly. Better put an x on that frickin banner.

[minnmann]

Hi, 

But how is it possible to remove the "connect with Facebook" but still see friends activity? I would like to see the activity of those friends that I have chosen to follow in Spotify not FB friends. 

[Ver]

Hey @minnmann,

Thanks for posting here 🙂

You can turn on the Show Friends Activity option in the setting with these steps.

If you're following your friends on the app and they're sharing their listening activity on Spotify, you will able to see what they're listening to. You don't need to connect your account to Facebook.

Hope this helps. The Community is here for you if there's anything else!

[astrobird]

I am struggling with this now,by the way I dont have facebook nor have I ever had a facebook account,I don't appreciate this.

[Maria_B]

Hey @astrobird,

Thank you for posting on this thread.

Could you let us know if you followed the steps shared by @Eni to toggle off the Friend activity sidebar?

If you already did it, please send us a screenshot of how your app looks. This way we can take a closer look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout!

[astrobird]

I got it to go away,not sure how.

[Novy]

Hi @astrobird,

Thanks for letting us know that everything is working fine now.

Remember to always keep your app updated, so you don't miss any fixes or new features. Don't hesitate to give us a shout if you have more questions.

Have a great day!

[byce]

There's some nuance that isn't being addressed in this thread and it may indeed affect privacy regulation (GDPR/CCPA/et. al.)

Several contributors to this thread have suggested "hiding the friend feed" as a meaningful course toward resolution. While this is fine, it doesn't address the root problem of removing programmatic access from Facebook to Spotify. In GDPR terms, this is the Right to Erasure. This is especially true since the connection, once established, cannot be explicitly removed and is being used for more than mere authentication (i.e. how I'm interacting with the Spotify app when it's shared meets every requirement of personal data.) Also, once a user "hides the friend feed," they should be prompted to re-grant Facebook the necessary privileges. This is especially true with accounts that do not have a "Sign-in with Facebook" requirement (that use Facebook as an OAuth 2 provider), but also supported (technically) for accounts that do.

I hope that Spotify as a company will take some time to reevaluate such broadly sweeping permission as a business practice and provide meaningful ways of allowing users to separate from a partner that, clearly, many subscribers may no longer be interested in.

[mmccaughan]

You make an excellent point, and one I had not considered as in the US we do not have a federally mandated regulation like the GDPR (I wish we did).

[MafeG]

Hi folks,

@byce and @mmccaughan, thank you for sharing those insights in this thread.

To have more clarity about the data that Spotify collects you can review this article that explains it, along with your user rights and privacy settings.

There is also this page with the detailed information that Spotify is required to provide under GDPR. It also includes instructions on how to obtain a copy of your personal data.

Take into account that while GDPR is a European Union regulation, Spotify will adhere to these regulations for users across all countries.
 

Cheers.

[Orchestructive · Accepted solution]

Just in case this bothers anyone, Desktop app -

••• menu > View > (uncheck) Friend Activity

This got rid of this insanely stupid design choice for me 🙂 

[Chrisonthenet8]

That was the solution for it, thanks for sharing!

[aa267]

The thing is, i Want to see activity of the ones i am following. But now because of this facebook thing, i can either remove the whole panel or bear it. There is no option for seeing my friends activity. Just remove this so called "Feature" and let us see the activity panel of the ones whom i am following

[Jeremy]

Hi there @aa267,

Thank you for your reply in this thread.

Can you disconnect your Facebook account to see if the issue persists?

It would also be great if you can let me know which version of the app you have?

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[Zaandros]

I WANT to see my friend activity like before, but I don't want to be forced to connect via Facebook to do that. Hiding friend activity does not achieve what I, or most other people want.

[MafeG]

Hi @Zaandros,

Thank you for posting on this thread.

You can see your friend's activity even if you don't have a Facebook profile connected. 

If you already follow other users in Spotify, you can see their activity instead of the Facebook banner by clicking on this back arrow. 

Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[Zudane]

4th Attempt at this because apparently Spotify can't even get their support forums to work correctly.  And why would they? Can't complain about it not working if you can't post!

I want something very very very simple:  I want the sidebar to see what other people are playing but NOT the giant and distracting Connect to Facebook button.  And I don't want to connect Facebook.

Look up WCAG 2.0 accessibility standards for the internet.  While not legally binding, I'm sure you'll find some helpful information there, like the distracting and contrasting color of the Facebook button is an actual issue with accessibility for people with mental disabilities.  Making your app accessible is a great thing to do, and if you don't care about that - it avoids potential lawsuits (I'm not threatening, but someone could).

Seriously, just let people play music without shoving Facebook down their throat.

[MafeG]

Hi @Zudane,

Thank you for sharing your post in the Community.

If you experience issues trying to post, we suggest you open an incognito window or try with a different browser.

About the sidebar, you can dismiss the "Connect to Facebook" button and see what your Spotify friends are playing. Just click on the back arrow and it will show your Friend's activity. 

Hope this clears things up. Don't hesitate to reach out again if you have questions.

[lowgravity]

Premium member here. It's absolutely unacceptable that Spotify is consuming so much of my screen space with this Facebook advertisement that has no immediately apparent, quick and simple way to get it off my screen. It's absolutely unacceptable that I need to spend time and energy searching for and visiting this page to educate myself on the convoluted process you've implemented to remove this nonsense from my vision. Now that I've been bluntly made aware that Spotify and Facebook are engaged in a partnership, I'm much less likely to continue using your services in the future. I make efforts to get Facebook off of my computer systems and network, and for some reason Spotify is making efforts to counter my efforts. Spotify Premium benefits include: "Listen to music ad-free." Well let's not try to pretend that plastering CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK across 20% of my screen isn't an advertisement. Facebook disgusts me and now you have associated Spotify with that emotion, and presumably some of the money that's paid for my membership is finding is supporting Facebook financially. Continue plastering the name of Facebook on my screen and I'll make efforts to ensure it never happens again by taking my business elsewhere.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my feedback. 

[1954nightstalke]

By luck I found that the newest version of the app has three dots upper left corner, click on them and go to view then UNCLICK the Friendly (unfriendly) activity button. And be at peace and enjoy the music.