Happy birthday @bobdylan! 71 tracks to celebrate an incredible 71 years. http://t.co/P6YZfK0G
The Spotify Play Button can power up your website or blog with music! Learn how to get started with this tutorial - http://t.co/0vueoqNo
Calling all iPad and iPhone users. Try Spotify on your device for free for the next 30 days! http://t.co/naVMXpsp
Swedish Spotify users - win an exclusive meet & greet with @justinbieber and tix to his show! Enter now - http://t.co/0ZjOC57p
My favourite Australian artist is ________________________
Spotify is the world's music collection. Play, discover and share for free. Get started now - http://t.co/VH5UYenv
Kia Ora New Zealand. Spotify here. http://t.co/ZeSJbbpi
G'day Australia. Spotify here. http://t.co/2FIvCjcQ
Check out this #MusicMonday's playlist brought to you by our friend @MonaFims http://t.co/q5pC2MTR
RIP Robin Gibb, he was a truly talented songwriter. http://t.co/k24MzEpE
What you share and how to control it
Spotify is all about sharing and discovering new music. It’s entirely up to you what you decide to share and what you keep private.
To control your sharing settings, just go to your Spotify Preferences. Here you’ll see an ‘Activity Sharing’ section. To share the music you listen to with Facebook, make sure the box is checked. If you’d rather not share, just uncheck the box. It’s that simple.
Who can see my music?
Your public playlists can be seen by all your friends.
Your “Top artists” and “Top tracks” are also visible. If you want to remove a playlist from your public library, click on your own name at the top of the People list, select “Edit” and then turn off the playlist you don’t want people to see.
If you only want to share a playlist with a specific person, just click on the share button on the playlist view and choose the Spotify people tab.
To save yourself time, you can choose to automatically publish all your new playlists, or none of them. Just go to your Spotify Preferences and tick the box in your Profile section.
Update: Many of our users have told us that they like to share what they’re listening to, but also want an easy way to hide their occasional guilty pleasures. So we’ve now added a new ‘Private Session’ mode to our latest update.
You can turn it on from the Spotify menu and it will stop sharing what you’re listening to until the next time you log in.
175 responses to “What you share and how to control it”
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Well, that's all very well and good, but you've lost my trust, so for now I'm keeping my spotify account and facebook account separate. Which is a shame, because I liked seeing other peoples public playlists. It doesn't help that you've done this at the same time as other facebook dirty tricks are coming to light, otherwise I'd be more inclined to try it out. But for now, I'm not getting into anything I can't get out of. Now, when are we getting the Beatles and the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
Why does Spotify require that a user is registered with Facebook to sign up to the service?
I don't agree with forcing people to log in with Facebook, but alas that's the cost of doing business. If you want to be Facebook's premier music partner you have to play by their rules.
I wont use Facebook as I have zero trust of their privacy policies and continual shifting ground on what data is collected and how it is used. I'm a premium subscriber and if a Facebook account is going to be a requirement in the future then that is the end of our relationship, sadly. I hope you guys don't go down this route. Please remember that not everyone is open to hosing their lives across the internet via the ever widening and less restricted Facebook pipe... Your early adopters and more tech savvy users I would include as part of this group. Regards.
Would be nice to have an option to un-scrobble a song like Last.FM has.
I stupidly agreed to the new changes which publish every song I listen to at the top of everyone's news feed. After realising I don't want this to happen any more, I've tried to revert back to just being able to see my Facebook friends at the side of Spotify so I can look at their playlists and they mine, but it's impossible. All I can do is attempt to make the 'listening now' playlist post visible to only me, but I just don't trust Facebook to do this, and even so, it still clutters up my news feed. If I click "disconnect" in my settings it completely gets rid of the friends bar, which I don't want to do. Spotify's changes have been so infuriating lately, not to mention the problems with the Android app, as reported extensively on getsatisfaction.com, which are never addressed. I hope someone from the team sees this and gets on with fixing the basic software, instead of frolicking with your new friend Mark Zuckerberg.
The issue is not about being worried about how to control sharing, it's about being forced to use a FB login. Remove that, and everyone is happy again.
I've been a proud Premium subscriber since the beginning, but have enough problems with Facebook to have deleted my account with them a long time ago. As a heavy web user but not a Facebook member I find the 'sign in using Facebook' auth model to be inconvenient and its growing prevalence on the net is troubling. I don't believe for one moment that a Facebook membership will ever be an absolute requirement for using Spotify, but I have long felt that the social aspect of the service is vastly inferior for non-Facebook members. Following the announcements at F8, if Spotify is to become even more closely integrated with Facebook at the cost of developing a social presence of its own I can see the service feeling even more limited: I'll still get universal access to a world of great music, but will be missing out on the social side by virtue of not wishing to sign up with a 3rd party.
I have a paid non facebook linked account and I am seriously thinking of dumping Spotify... Not cool Spotify.
I don't think Spotify are really understanding where the anger is coming from, when forcing users to sign up for Facebook before opening a Spotify account. Some people simply do not want to be part of the Facebook revolution, but would love to be part of the Spotify revolution, so you are forcing them to be part of Facebook, while other potential users abhor the idea of two totally different sites, sharing information about their users and their habits with each other. This is not just about sharing information with family and friends, this is about private companies, data mining. What information does Spotify and Facebook share? What information is collected from users of both services? Is the tie up between Spotify and Facebook an attempt to solicit more information from users of both sites, in order to better target advertising? Which other parties is the Facebook information collected by Spotify, shared with? There is a list of question as long as your arm, about this tie up, which have not been answered and really should be.
I DON'T USE FACEBOOK! Requiring me to link to is is going to lose you a PAYING customer. Stupid move.
I have a paid account. I like my paid account, because I find spotify to be preferable to piracy. I do not have, never have had, and never will have, a facebook account. The appalling way that spotify is "integrating" with facebook, ignoring the will of its users, and being careless with private data is disgusting... and increasingly common... and only serves to remind me why I won't use facebook. I'm glad that (for the moment), my older account can still access spotify, without having to connect it to FB. The moment that changes, I will abandon spotify, stop paying, and never come back. It's not like it's difficult to offer Facebook as an OPTION, for those who want it, and a spotify-only signin for those who don't (and perhaps oauth and openID for those who'd rather use another service for SSO). This has the stink of Peter Thiel all over it. Don't let that A-Hole destroy your business by making Spotify just another Facebook feature.
I don't mind that it's connected to Facebook (and I don't think that requirement is going to lose them many customers, given the size of FB's userbase) but what I dislike is the ALL or NOTHING approach. I'd rather be able to share selectively instead of automatically broadcasting every track I listen to into all of my friend's news tickers. Some sort of customization features would be nice rather than the simple on/off switch.
Minyanville states that all new users must have a facebook account. Could you please clarify this in your blog. If Minyanville is correct, this reeks of Netflix stupidity and I ask that SPOTIFY please reconsider your facebook integration. Saddened, disappointed and on the verge of cancelling.
Me too, if I ever have to join Facebook, I'm gone as early premium subscriber. Please don't get this wrong
A few years back I had a little program that would show what Itunes music I was listening to in Ichat. I always got a kick out of msgs I'd get from people commenting on the music I was listening to and it sometimes would strike-up a good conversation. But there was no logging of my listening habit, advertisers looking over my shoulder, and apps requesting access to personal information, etc. Personally I don't mind having SOME of my listening habits goring to FB. The current setup (The FB user list in Spotify & the ability to manually post a song I'm listening to in FB) does its job pretty well. I'll probably even get used to the new setup.... But here's the rub. I signed up for Spotify, not Facebook. Granted I already had a FB account but that is besides the point. New users are signing up for the Spotify service because they want to use this service, if they want FB along with its timeline, open graph, etc... Well, they have the option to sign up for it later... But to make it a requirement seems a bit much. Do I have to be a FB member to use Amazon. Facebook isn't a simple social networking service anymore... Its about the user trading personal information and allowing it to be data mined and sold off. Which once again is fine. People signing up for FB should recognize this fact and decide if they want to sign up or not with this trade off. But I don't think this is what Spotify is about, new feature or not. Let your users decide if they want to take advantage of this feature(s) or not.... Just my two cents though . . .
So, I can't use my spotify for the work I'm writing today (ANOTHER MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, The Stage Play) Did it stop working because of this facebook issue? Why would I want to broadcast to facebook that I listened to "DON'T MESS WITH BILL" ten times? (To write "DON'T MESS WITH WILL (Shakespeare) version of the song.? I'll have to go back to YouTube to get the job done today. Silly Spotify :)
Cannot log in to SPOTIFY from work... re: To Help protect your security, Internet Explorer has blocked this website from displaying content with SECURITY CERTIFICATE ERRORS. Click here for options... none of which display due to the SECURITY CERTIFICATE ERRORS.
Those of you complaining about not having a Facebook account need to remember this. You are the minority. As a business, wouldn't you go where the majority of your demographic is located?
Luckily I signed up and started paying before FB requirement, but let me be clear: I will move away unless this is rectified even if it doesn't affect me. This is just getting too creepy!
Just stop forcing people to login with a facebook account m'kay?
voltronfutura ... Your asking the wrong question to the wrong side. The question you should be asking is, "SPOTIFY as a company, why are you risking alienating a portion of your customer base (even though they may be a minority) by changing your subscribers choices about how much information they want to share?" This type of arrogance may be a trickle of complaints now but a growing pissed off customer base can swell will bring down any company rapidly.
@voltronfutura That is NOT the point, you could create an account without Facebook before and Spotify wouldn't be half as popular as it is now without this dickish move on their part.
What about the people that purchased a product that specifically did not require interfacing with a social network? What about the people that cherish their privacy and totally despise the whole thought of FB use and how intrusive this whole request to signup for a FB account is? Can we get a refund? Can we????
To require FaceBook was not cool. I will terminate my subscription the moment this happens to already registered users. Wimp.no here i might come... If you make it mandatory for already registered customers I will look into the possibility that this is a breach of contract. Consumers in Norway have strong protection laws.
If FB is required for payed users i'm leaving Spotify.
Me too, If FB is required for payed users i'm leaving Spotify. It is absurd the need to have a facebook account in order to sign in . Really ABSURD. it's got nothing to do with listening to music
You've just lost another customer. And Facebook will also lose my account if I get spammed by other people's music.
Same here. I'm cancelling my premium subscription the same day faceborg login or integration becomes mandatory for "old" customers. This is such an arrogant move I can't believe I actually used to promote and demo Spotify to my friends as a cool service worth paying. And as long as faceborg login is required for new accounts, you won't see mee recommending Spotify to anyone.
The problem is that Spotify have swallowed the social media KoolAid and cannot believe that many of us just don't want to share. Telling people they MUSt have a FB account is ludicrous and WILL lose you paying customers. If I wasn't already a customer, you would have lost a prospective one. If you require me to have a FB account, you WILL lose a paying customer. I don't and I don't want to share every aspect of my life with people. FB is the devil.
I'm a premium user. As soon as you will force me to use Facebook to connect, I will cancel my subscription.
I'm a Premium subscriber not that keen on Spotify requiring Facebook. You could have recommended it, but require it? Just just did a very disappointing move, and you know it.
I'm a premium user and I'm STOKED about the new Facebook integration! I couldn't care less about signing in with Facebook. If that's what it takes to share music with my friends, then so be it. Spotify is THE BEST THING EVER for music fanatics like myself, so I just don't understand the whining about this.
Sorry- the forced link with Facebook has seriously ticked me off. As an existing paid customer, I realise I don't have to sign in with facebook, but I'm not willing to take the chance. I'm cancelling my subscription.
I would also consider getting a premium account if there was the ability to have a separate login from Facebook. To @voltronfutura's point, you're mixing personal with professional use of a product. Not everyone on Spotify uses it in their workplace. Nor do they use Facebook professionally. Big difference. Is Facebook integration important? Sure. What website/service these days doesn't have some kind of relationship with Facebook? Is it exclusively necessary for registration/login for a viable/successful service? That's where I disagree with you on your decision. Truth be told, I have Facebook and Spotify. I'm becoming increasingly weary of Facebook's "upgrades" (read: downgrades) that I'm really looking for a way out. Spotify, you really need to reconsider your options here - and fast.
Are you guys serious? I will NOT have any connection between Facebook and my Spotify account! If the only option is to leave Spotify, I will not hesitate.
What about providing us with a setting in preferences like "Don't ever dare to mention Facebook"? As much as I love Spotify I do hate Facebook. If you like to keep me as a premium user pls get Facebook out of my face.
I have an original (non-facebook) Spotify Premium account, and like many others, will stop payment the moment anything facebook related is required of me. Requiring customers, new or old, to have an account online other than your own network in order to use the service (when its been already clearly shown that we dont need to) is completely disrespectful and shows lack of principal. And I'm a man of principal.
I am worried that the next step will be to transform Spotify accounts to Facebook accounts.
This really SUCKS.. The one thing worse than being monitor by the authorities, is when private coorp due to it's share size tries to control and manipulate me as a PAYING consumer. Shame On You.... Former Spotyfi Fan.....
Just want to add my 2 cents. I understand Facebook is the perfect option for mass social integration - but NOT the only option. I tweet my favourite new albums / songs everyday to a couple hundred followers, many of which are now spotify users (and paying!). twitter is also where I find out about any / all new music from others... Yet the Twitter integration is rudimentary to say the least. This fact alone raises my concerns about what's actually happening here. Now 800 million is a nice customer base - but not your original customer base. Original users of spotify are tech savvy music lovers - a lot of which are probably not your typical facebook user. They of course may be facebook users, but they understand privacy concerns online and love services that sympathise with those concerns. Don't disappoint them - revert this decision. Give users options, users want to decide - your 800 million will still be there. Or sell the company to Facebook (which is, I assume, what's actually happening), cash in and throw the amazing brand away.
If you want to find your friends on Spotify, and add their playlists without logging into facebook, type in spotify:user:(their username) into the search field and bingo.
Facebook is a privacy nightmare and I don't give any of my other services access to my Facebook account because of this. If this requirement is a condition of the agreement with Facebook then Spotify has made a deal with the devil. If the Spotify-only login stops working I will drop the account for sure. It just isn't worth the hassle and worry. Facebook has their claws into people in a way that makes it hard for them to leave, Spotify does not.
Ok, I want to ask something different than what everyone else is ranting about. According to the message by the checkbox in the image in the blog post, I'll get personalized recomendations based on what I send to Facebook's Open Graph. But how do I actually get the recomendations?? I'm disabling the function now :-(
Soul. Devil. Sold.
I concur. A Spotify user for over 3 years and premium more than 2, I am ready to find an alternative. Facebook - don't want anything to do with it. Bye bye Spotify, there are other fish in the sea!
That's fine Spotify. You do your thing and I do mine. I'm off to a competitor. :)
This is NOT OK Spotify. I'm all for sharing on Facebook but I don't want t be pushed in to it. I only share what I want to share. Not what you want me to share.
I would never have become a spotify subscriber if you would have forced me to join facebook. A really stupid move!! Why not let people decide for themselves.
I don't really care about Facebook or what I share on it because I never really go on it. My problem with it - one day it works - the next day it doesn't. Like why the fuck does it let me connect one day then the next day tell me to update?? I am fully updated and no firewall - this shouldn't happen.