Can no longer fast forward through ads in podcasts on bluetooth devices?

[Mukatsuku]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

iPhone 13

Operating System

iOS 18.5

My Question or Issue

About a month ago, I was listening to a podcast through my iPhone, through the bluetooth stereo connection in my car. An ad came on, one of the ones that is dynamically inserted by spotify, not one of the ones that is read by the podcasters.

Previously, I was able to press the skip button on my stereo, and I would skip 15 seconds through the ad (i.e. I could press it a few times and be through the ad). But about a month ago, that just stopped.

I contacted support about this and did every test imaginable. Tried this with 3 different bluetooth devices (car, earbuds, headset), logged in and tested with support's test account, cleared my cache and reinstalled/updated the app, installed spotify on an iPad and did all of the above tests as well; same issue and cannot skip/fast forward through those ads with the bluetooth controls.

Spotify support has been terrible. Over the past month, I have followed up via chat and email to get clarification: is this a feature? Or a bug? Because they don't publish release notes other than "fixed bugs and under the hood improvements!" there is no way to see as a user what was changed... Here is a list of the answers I have received from Support over the past month:

1. You have never been able to do this with bluetooth devices (not true), they then asked me "how does it work with a bluetooth headset?"

2. This is a beta test feature, and sometimes new features are released and tested with users, thank you for your feedback on this feature!

3. This is a bug and they said they confirmed with the engineering team, and if you update and wait 3 hours it will be fixed (surprise, it was not)

4. This is a feature, and this was updated and it will be the norm going forward

Every time I contacted support it was a copy-pasted answer about "thanks for the feedback!" or they just said one of the above; every time it was a different answer. It is absolutely crazy to me that support for a company cannot tell me, with confidence, which it is.

Additionally... if it is a beta testing feature... is this how they test and get feedback? Release it to random users without opt-in or notification and then HOPE that they contact support to... give their thoughts on this feature...? That seems crazy.

I am hoping that someone can tell me if this is happening to them, or someone from Spotify can actually give me the correct answer.

[Frustrated_Customer]

I 100% discovered this today, actually. Totally thought my AirPods were glitching out….until I looked it up. Found plenty of stories and outrage of people being sick of these hidden roadblocks to force ads, as well as frustration with the locked “bonus” episodes we can’t filter out of the queue, or even the additional paywall put up on audiobook hours despite paying for prime. Each of these actions are pushing more and more away from Spotify. 
Sorry to hear about your cat & mouse experience with their “customer service”. 

[mary53deaver]

Based on your experience and the conflicting information from Spotify support, it's highly probable that the inability to skip podcast ads via your car's Bluetooth controls is a deliberate feature change or a test. This kind of A/B testing, where a feature is rolled out to a small group of users without notification, is common. The inconsistent responses from customer support further suggest a lack of internal communication about this change, confirming that it's not a bug on your end.

[Mukatsuku]

Yeah I figured it was something like this. Because when I cancelled my service the representative said “we have been getting a lot of complaints about this change.”

I am sure it’s buried in the terms and conditions document or something… but come on. I’m paying for a premium service and getting pushed “new features” without warning or clarification. If I did (and I use this term loosely) A/B testing on users who didn’t know it with a feature that actively made their service MORE shitry… I’d be fired. Like wth. It’s bad enough software updates now just say “bug fixes and improvements under the hood to keep your service running great!” When it’s actually the enshittification of services to fuel one more way to shove an ad down my throat. Every year it’s a subscription increase, unskippable ads, locked podcasts until you pay ANOTHER service for access layered in. 

All that in addition to paying artists fractions of pennies on the dollar and a CEO that is now funding military AI… we are in the stupidest timeline. 

[kyla598ellis]

---

@Mukatsuku myAARPMedicare wrote:

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

iPhone 13

Operating System

iOS 18.5

My Question or Issue

About a month ago, I was listening to a podcast through my iPhone, through the bluetooth stereo connection in my car. An ad came on, one of the ones that is dynamically inserted by spotify, not one of the ones that is read by the podcasters.

Previously, I was able to press the skip button on my stereo, and I would skip 15 seconds through the ad (i.e. I could press it a few times and be through the ad). But about a month ago, that just stopped.

I contacted support about this and did every test imaginable. Tried this with 3 different bluetooth devices (car, earbuds, headset), logged in and tested with support's test account, cleared my cache and reinstalled/updated the app, installed spotify on an iPad and did all of the above tests as well; same issue and cannot skip/fast forward through those ads with the bluetooth controls.

Spotify support has been terrible. Over the past month, I have followed up via chat and email to get clarification: is this a feature? Or a bug? Because they don't publish release notes other than "fixed bugs and under the hood improvements!" there is no way to see as a user what was changed... Here is a list of the answers I have received from Support over the past month:

1. You have never been able to do this with bluetooth devices (not true), they then asked me "how does it work with a bluetooth headset?"

2. This is a beta test feature, and sometimes new features are released and tested with users, thank you for your feedback on this feature!

3. This is a bug and they said they confirmed with the engineering team, and if you update and wait 3 hours it will be fixed (surprise, it was not)

4. This is a feature, and this was updated and it will be the norm going forward

Every time I contacted support it was a copy-pasted answer about "thanks for the feedback!" or they just said one of the above; every time it was a different answer. It is absolutely crazy to me that support for a company cannot tell me, with confidence, which it is.

Additionally... if it is a beta testing feature... is this how they test and get feedback? Release it to random users without opt-in or notification and then HOPE that they contact support to... give their thoughts on this feature...? That seems crazy.

I am hoping that someone can tell me if this is happening to them, or someone from Spotify can actually give me the correct answer.

---

Hello,
This appears to be a deliberate change by Spotify affecting dynamic ad skipping via Bluetooth controls. Multiple users have reported the same issue recently. While support responses have been inconsistent, the most likely explanation is a backend update restricting ad skipping—possibly part of a broader rollout or test. Unfortunately, Spotify hasn’t provided clear documentation or opt-in transparency, which makes feedback and resolution difficult.

Best Regards,
Kyla Ellis

[Mukatsuku]

Right. So it’s either unintentional, showing their incompetence. Or it is intentional, showing their maliciousness to implement and either hope no one notices, or hope people forget about it and just accept it. 

Either way I’ve had enough, and I cancelled. Terrible user experience, terrible service, terrible business practices. I’m just one user, I get they don’t care; it won’t be until they upset the larger group of people who won’t just shrug their shoulders and accept another way to gouge people. 

[stvn_143]

I've noticed this too. It's a disgraceful practice intended to serve ads to people who pay to avoid them by adding the extra step of picking up their phone, knowing full well that many people listen to podcasts while their hands are occupied or their phone isn't easily accessible.