It's nothing unusual for a company collect information in an effort to know its customers better. Spotify recently released a new privacy policy in relation to that but some limits may have been overstepped. Unfortunately, there's nothing users can do about it.
The new privacy policy of Spotify took effect Aug. 19 and users should read all terms and conditions carefully to help make more informed decisions about using the music streaming service. Basically, by using or interacting with Spotify, users are agreeing that their information will be collected, used, shared and processed, including photos, media files and contacts' details.
It's unclear which media files Spotify will be interested in and why it needs see to what users are watching or listening to outside of the service but it is going to push through with accessing and collecting this kind of information anyway. It doesn't make sense either why Spotify would need to see users' contacts lists but the service is relegating the job of asking consent from contacts to the user.
Wherever users go to, Spotify wants to know, collecting location-based information by accessing GPS services in devices. In addition to where users are, it also wants to know how users are moving in their location, like whether they are walking, running or in a vehicle.
Integration with third-party applications isn't something new as well so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Spotify wants to connect to, say, a user's Facebook account. The social network is a treasure trove of information, after all. However, integration isn't actually necessary because Spotify is a stand-alone service.
What the new privacy policy essentially shows is that users can't actually expect to have privacy while using the service and Spotify has no qualms about blatantly gathering personal information.
Don't like where this is going?
"If you don't agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, then please don't use the Service," wrote Spotify.
The best anyone who wants to keep using Spotify but is concerned about their privacy is to tweak the settings so that their information cannot be shared with third parties. However, this will not keep the service from collecting their information in the first place.
