Spotify has updated the language of its new privacy policy so that everyone understands it
Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO, wrote in a blog post that "the introduction [to the policy] is intended to be a clear statement of our approach and principles about privacy [and] we hope it provides a healthy dose of clarity and context."
The original section is below:
3.3 Information Stored on Your Mobile Device
With your permission, we may collect information stored on your mobile device, such as contacts, photos, or media files. Local law may require that you seek the consent of your contacts to provide their personal information to Spotify, which may use that information for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy.
The company has now updated the policy to read:
We may provide features that rely on the use of additional information on your mobile device or require access to certain services on your mobile device that will enhance your Spotify experience but are not required to use the Service. (In other words, information that falls in the second category described in the Introduction to this Policy.) For example, we might allow you to upload photos to your profile, connect with friends, or let you use voice commands to control the Service. Granting us access does not mean you are granting us unlimited access to that information or that we will access specific information without your permission. To the contrary, for each type of information listed in this section, before we access this information or these features of your mobile device, we will ask for your permission.
The company says that anyone who signed last month's policy doesn't need to do so with this one and any disaffected users can now clearly see what exactly they are signing up for.
As the music streaming battles heat up, Spotify will want to avoid controversy in order to stay ahead of Apple Music. Adding a section to the privacy policy that asked for access to contacts and images did not help this.