Spotify stops test that asked family plan subscribers to share their GPS location

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We reported yesterday how Spotify has started cracking down on users who abuse the family plan. Their solution was to ask subscribers to confirm their location via GPS. They wanted to catch users who aren’t related but are taking advantage of the discount the plan offers. But as some users have pointed out not all family members live together. However, Spotify does state in its terms that all members need to share a physical address.  

This hasn’t been strictly enforced before but it seems the loss of revenue this plans pose is enough to catch the music streaming service’s attention. As expected, customers aren’t comfortable with sharing their exact GPS location with the company. And the company has received backlash for this method. The company rescinded the small-scale test. It was sent out to only four of Spotify’s markets. But now the company has shut it down. When asked to comment on this, a Spotify spokesperson told Tech Crunch, “Spotify is currently testing improvements to the user experience of Premium for Family with small user groups in select markets. We are always testing new products and experiences at Spotify, but have no further news to share regarding this particular feature test at this time.”