I see ads even though I'm paying for Premium

[somwhatparanoid]

I've been a Spotify Premium subscriber more or less consistently since 2015. This morning I opened the Spotify app and was greeted by a full screen advertisement for a new Dua Lipa single -- it was labeled as a "Sponsored recommendation".

I pay Spotify 10.99€ per month for the purpose of NOT seeing advertisements, and "Ad Free Music Listening" is one of explicitly stated features of the premium subscription on Spotify's own page (https://support.spotify.com/us/article/premium-plans/). If I'm to see ads anyway then I want my money back as the subscription is obviously not working and Spotify is advertising falsely.

[Bittencourt]

Hi @somwhatparanoid, thanks for writing!

My suggestion is that you go to Settings on your desktop app, and then scroll down to Display and disable "Show announcements about new releases".

Let me know if it works!

[somwhatparanoid]

Hey @Bittencourt and thanks for the reply. I've had this toggle disabled for years, and I've just verified again that it's disabled. So that is not the solution.

[Bittencourt]

Hey @somwhatparanoid,

Thank you for the feedback.

While Spotify doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience of Premium subscribers, they might still see sponsored content in other areas of the app. This might include personalized recommendations based on their listening history, which is another way for artists to promote their music on Spotify.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[somwhatparanoid]

I am afraid I do not share your point of view. Spotify advertises Premium as an "ad-free" plan, not as a "see less ads" plan. And I am honestly baffled at the concept of "pay us not to see ads and we will still show you ads". It's simply false advertising.

[tab73]

Just posting to bump this thread. 

I too have the "show new releases" button switched off, but I still get my app cluttered with ads for concerts and new releases.

This makes me click wrong lots of times as the ad loads in on top of the thing I was about to click on.

These forced ads on premium does not make me like those artists more, only less. 

[JAS37]

I agree.  False advertising and quite annoying at times.

I can retaliate by not using this app for awhile.

Simply visit/use the site without logging in. If a few too many of us do this, it can change.

Corporate counts visits as we count pennies. They watch them closely.

[Jennerblank]

Spotifly greedy pos"s

[iToastie]

This is currently a known bug. Follow this to say in the loop:
Premium users hearing ads - The Spotify Community

[minimarizinha]

I opened Spotify on my tablet and ads started appearing on the podcasts I listen to, which never had ads before. The blue screen ads, not the sponsor from the artist.

I tried to find a solution online, but all I saw were the same complaints from years ago and nothing... resolved. 

[Yordan]

Hey, @minimarizinha,

Some podcasts may occasionally include some advertising. This has been the case since the early days of podcasts, and continues to be true today, including on Spotify. Therefore, even as a Premium user, you may receive advertising or sponsored messages when playing a podcast. 

Note that as a Premium user, you still enjoy an ad-free music listening experience.

More info on podcasts can be found here.

Hope this clears things up. The Community is just a post away in case there's anything you need assistance with.