Spotify Premium Hackers Just Got This Stern Warning
This week Spotify made clear that they are not fans of the apparently quite relevant number of users hacking their way into free services. Users downloaded hacked apps and ran services which allowed Spotify Premium to be used without paying the Spotify Premium fee. As such, Spotify was rather displeased, and released a message to all those would-be thieves.
"We detected abnormal activity on the app you are using so we have disabled it," said a Spotify message this week. "Don't worry – your Spotify account is safe." This sort of message rings extremely similar to that of a recent similar set of circumstances in one of the other most popular apps in the universe: Pokemon GO.
Niantic dealt with illegitimate access to their service in a similar way. Early hackers were given the chance to leave their hacking ways behind, using their account with the legit version of the Pokemon GO app. The warning used similar language, telling the user that they'd been detected using a non-official app that thusly activated a temporary ban.
"It seems an unauthorized app was detected," said one recent Spotify warning message, via TorrentFreak. "To carry on using Spotify, uninstall the existing app on your device, then download the latest official version."
This sort of situation is increasingly popular amongst brands which offer access to their services with subscription fees. Almost important as updates to said services is the protection of said services against unauthorized use. Gotta make that cash, after all.
"If we detect repeated use of unauthorized apps in violation of our terms," wrote Spotify, "we reserve all rights, including suspending or terminating your account." Wouldn't want to lose those playlists! Outside that, users will be mostly warned off of the hassle of creating a new account from scratch. That in itself takes a few minutes at least – and might push users who've already taken some time to get an illegitimate app to open their pocketbooks and save themselves the additional effort.