The change is part of the company’s latest TOS update

Feb 8, 2019 13:31 GMT  ·  By

The latest update to Spotify’s Terms of Service includes a serious warning for free users who turned to gimmicks like ad blockers to listen to music online.

If you use anything like that to prevent ads from playing, your account may be terminated, Spotify warns.

At this point, Spotify offers two different plans to its users. First, it’s the premium account, which is available with a fee and provides unlimited music with no ads, and then, it’s the free version that lets you listen to music without paying but with ads between songs.

But according to a report by Reuters in 2018, no less than 2 million Spotify users relied on ad-blocking software to prevent ads from being played between songs, technically enjoying part of the premium benefits without paying.

Enter the new Terms of Service

This is all supposed to end on March 1 when Spotify’s new Terms of Service come into effect, as the company notes that “circumventing or blocking advertisements in the Spotify Service, or creating or distributing tools designed to block advertisements” is forbidden.

Users who will keep their ad-blocking software active after this date may get their accounts suspended or banned entirely.

Free users aren’t required to do anything to accept the terms, as simply connecting to Spotify after March 1 means they agree with the update.

One thing that Spotify hasn’t detailed concerns any potential warning that users would receive when violating the new terms of service. The company did not disclose if it wants to first warn free users that they risk a permanent ban on the service or the account would be terminated without prior notice.

Spotify hasn’t yet published an official announcement on the updated Terms of Service, but further details are expected as we approach the March 1 deadline.