Spotify Could Ban You for Using Ad-Blockers

Spotify has updated its Terms of Service, which now explicitly prohibit the use of ad-blockers. Spotify already uses various methods to detect and deal with people using ad-blockers, but the music streaming service is now upping the ante.

For the uninitiated, ad-blockers are tools that can hide ads from view. They’re extremely harmful to websites such as MakeUseOf which rely on advertising revenue. And even brands with paying subscribers are now battling the scourge of ad-blockers.

Spotify Cracks Down on Ad-Blockers

Spotify’s Terms of Service now state that “circumventing or blocking advertisements in the Spotify Service, or creating or distributing tools designed to block advertisements in the Spotify Service” is “not permitted for any reason whatsoever”.

Spotify warns that it could terminate or suspend your access to the Spotify Service at any time for breaking this rule (or any of the other rules outlined in its ToS). So unless you want to risk getting banned from using Spotify you should stop using an ad-blocker.

Apparently, @Spotify is banning accounts for those using ad-blockers, starting in March! Guess who's not using Spotify anymore? :D

— Ilexys Crowe (@ilexyscrowe) February 9, 2019

For Spotify users the choice is very simple. If you want to use Spotify without hearing or seeing ads, pay for a Premium subscription. And if you either don’t want to pay or can’t afford to pay, then you owe it to Spotify to listen to the occasional ad.

Of course people want stuff for free. But if you’re using an ad-blocker you have to realize that Spotify still pays for the music you’re listening to. And by choosing to bypass that 30-second advert you’re harming a service you obviously enjoy using.

Spotify Alternatives Worth Checking Out

There is another option, which is to switch from Spotify to another music streaming service which has a different attitude to ad-blockers. So if that’s the option for you check out our article pitting Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Music Unlimited.

Image Credit: Beau Giles/Flickr

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