Spotify clamps down on ad-blockers

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Spotify has reinforced its fight against ad-blockers by explicitly banning them in its terms of service. According to a new update, dodging ads or building tools for the purpose might result in your account being banned.

Spotify already has detection measures in place to identify users who are circumventing ads, and last year it estimated that two million people were using its free service in a way that generated no revenue for the company or musicians.

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That figure represented 1% of total users, and 2% of people using the ad-supported service. For a business the size of Spotify, that's a serious problem.

No second chances

Until now, listeners who broke the rules had their accounts suspended, and were sent a warning via email. If they upgraded to a premium account or removed their ad-blockers, their accounts would be restored.

Now, the gloves are off. When the new terms of service come into force on March 1, Spotify will instantly ban users who are avoiding ads. No warnings, and no second chances.

The update comes just days after Spotify acquired two podcasting companies to become a more serious player in non-music streaming.

“These acquisitions will meaningfully accelerate our path to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, give users around the world access to the best podcast content, and improve the quality of our listening experience as well as enhance the Spotify brand," said the company's CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek.

Via The Verge

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