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Unknown Accounts in my Family Plan

Unknown Accounts in my Family Plan

I was checking my billing details when I noticed that the 3 available spots for my Family plan were filled up with accounts I did not know.

 

After some searching around online, it seems like this is a pretty common problem. So why isn't Spotify doing something about it? There are no basic measures in place, like having to verify with the main account holder (me) before being added to my Family plan, or even notifying me that somebody has been added to my Family plan.

 

I'm also worried about how these people were added to my account, since I use a unique, randomly generated password for Spotify and all my accounts online. Was Spotify compromised? Did they gain access through one of the apps connected to my account? If so, why is Spotify sharing my username/password with connected apps, and/or allowing these apps to add members to my Family plan?

 

I've gone ahead and removed every linked app, changed my password, and signed out of every device, but I'm still worried because people reported accounts being added again even after taking these measures.

 

Given how frequent these complaints are, and how long they have been appearing for, I really hope Spotify does something - anything - to counteract these unauthorized accesses into people's accounts. I've been a Premium member for several years, but I'm not keeping my family on Spotify if I have to deal with this again while Spotify sits idly.

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12 Replies

Hey @Capeto42

 

I’m sorry to hear about this! In this case, I’d recommend checking out this support article for the next steps to take. Skip to the part that says Contact Us to get in touch with Customer Support. 

To prevent this from happening in the future, there are many measures you can take to protect your account, such as resetting your password every few months, and not using passwords you have used on other sites. There is also a great guide herefor some more measures on protecting your account.

If you see an email from Spotify, and can’t tell if it’s legit, use this checklist. Of course, Spotify makes sure that all user records and platforms are completely secure around the clock.

I hope this helps!

Billy-JSpotify Star
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Hi @Billy-J,

 

Thank you for the canned response. As I stated, I was already using a unique and random password, I had changed my password, and revoked access to third-party apps.

 

Whoever had access to my account is trying to get access again, because I just got an email saying that my account was locked and my password needed to be reset due to suspicious activity.

 

My original questions still stand:

* Was Spotify compromised?

* Do third-party apps have access to my username/email and password?

* If so, why?

* Why hasn't Spotify implemented simple measures like requiring approval from the main account holder to add someone to your Family plan, or notifying the main account holder when someone is added to your Family plan?

* Why hasn't Spotify added 2-factor authentication when signing in?

Hey @Capeto42,

 

I'll be glad to answer your questions.

 

Spotify hasn't been compromised. The Spotify platform and user records are totally secure, but there may be a breach on another service. If you use the same password for several services, they all have the potential to be compromised if one has a security breach. 

 

No, third party apps don't have access to your username and password.

 

For the last two questions:

  • I'm afraid this feature isn't possible at the moment, but I could see how this can be useful. You can always create a new Idea about this here, and I'll also pass your feedback on to the right folks.
  • This is currently an Idea under consideration, which you can find more info and add your vote for here.


Hope this clears things up - but don't hesitate to reply if you need further help!

Billy-JSpotify Star
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Hapoened to me, too. Family account was filled up with strangers. Makes no sense - how did they get the link to add themselves? My account password is changed all the time. More irritating than that, Spotify doesn't even have an obvious option in account management to let you report the accounts or take legal or civil action against those users.

Hi there @alisoncummings,

 

Thanks for you reply.

 

What we can recommend for securing your Spotify, and all online accounts is the following:

  • Don't use the same password for multiple services
  • Make sure you always log out when you've logged on with you Spotify or email account on another person's device
  • Make sure you follow all the steps from this guide as soon as see any suspicious activity on your account
  • Scan your device for any malicious software and ensure you have good anti-virus and malware protection

There is currently no way to track how exactly other users got access to your email and Spotify account.

 

Hope you find this info helpful.

AlexModerator
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Good Morning.
Since aug-16 new members are being added to my Spotify family plan, without my knowledge and without my authorization.
I also inform you that I use a strong, exclusive and random password, as I do with all services that require authentication.
How to solve this problem? I need an agile communication channel.
If it doesn't resolve by next week, I will cancel the plan and start using another similar service.

Sorry. Since mar-16.

Hey @dalbenodj,

 

Thanks for searching for the answer you need here.

 

Like @Alex and @Billy-J posted, if you notice any suspicious activity on your account, we recommend that you go through each of the steps listed here. It's also worthwhile changing the password of your email address or the address associated with your Spotify account altogether. You can find out how to do this here.

 

If afterwards unknown accounts still appear in your Family plan, you can follow the steps under the Lost anything?/Can't access your account? sections in the first guide we linked to.

 

Hope this helps. Let us know how things work out.

Mihail Moderator
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Hi! I found 5 random unknown account in my Spotify account just like the other users here! I'm thinking there's some sort of way to bypass security that's been discovered by people and Spotify either doesn't know or is too ignorant to be aware of the problem. This is frightening and I'm going to cancel my account over it. What really bothers me, and I wasn't going to cancel my account until I saw this, are the replies from Spotify support to this person's initial post. I know in this day and age you should expect a form reply to any request you make of any company because nobody knows or cares about your problem, but when it comes to account security, maybe you guys should treat this with a little bit more urgency than just telling the guy that he's stupid. Just like the other people on here, the password I use for Spotify is it random unique password that I don't use for any other apps or services and is not stored in an online password manager. You tell me how somebody compromised my account when there is no possible way for any human being on the planet to know what that password is? And don't tell me some form response about how I need to change passwords or anything because I do and the password is unknown to anybody but myself. In fact I don't know what it is, I have to go look at the sheet of paper it's on because it's random and unique. Somebody has figured out a way to sidestep your security and you don't know what that is. I'm canceling my account until you guys figure that out.

Hi there @Crand,

 

Welcome to the Community.

 

Sorry to hear that this has happened with your account.

 

We can't know for sure how the breach has occurred. The best thing to do is:

  • Change your Spotify account password
  • Log out Everywhere
  • Change the password on your associated e-mail account

You can find a more detailed guide here.

 

Our developer teams are working hard on making Spotify more secure, so things like this don't happen in the future.

 

Cheers.

 

 

AlexModerator
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My account also has the same problem, and this is the year 2023. The discussion started in 2020. Is Spotify even doing something about this with the premium we are all paying? I still could not find anything worthy in any of the help center's info you have. Spotify should take this very seriously as this is a breach of users' privacy and indicates that Spotify has some serious issues where user data is accessible to people who are misusing it.  

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