Will Spotify Account Get Deleted? The Surprising New Age Rules Hitting UK Users

Are You Old Enough for Spotify? Why Face Scans Could Cost You Your Music

Spotify is making big changes that could affect your music listening. Let me break down what’s happening in simple terms.

What Is Spotify Doing?

Spotify now asks some users to prove their age. This happens when you try to watch music videos marked as adults-only. The company works with a company called Yoti to check how old you are.

Here’s how it works:

1. You take a selfie with your phone
2. The app guesses your age by looking at your face
3. If it thinks you’re too young, you must show ID

Why Is This Happening?

The UK government made new rules called the Online Safety Act. These rules started working last Friday. They say websites must check ages for adult content.

The new law affects many websites:

• Adult websites like Pornhub
• Social media like Reddit and X (Twitter)
• Music services like Spotify

What Happens If You Fail?

This is where things get serious. If Spotify can’t prove you’re old enough, they will delete your account.

Here’s the timeline:

• Immediate: Your account gets turned off
• 90 days later: Your account gets deleted forever

The company says this clearly on their website: “If you cannot confirm you’re old enough to use Spotify, your account will be deactivated and eventually deleted”.

Age Requirements Explained

Spotify has different age rules:

• Minimum age: 13 years old in the UK
• Adult content: 18 years old for some music videos

If you’re under 13, you lose everything. If you’re 13-17, you just can’t watch certain videos.

Can You Avoid This?

You have choices when Spotify asks for age checking:

Option 1: Complete the check

1. Take a selfie for age guessing
2. Show ID if the selfie doesn’t work

Option 2: Decline the check

• You keep your account
• You can’t watch adult music videos

Option 3: Do nothing

Your account gets deleted after 90 days

Technical Details

Spotify uses Yoti for age checking. This company:

• Uses face-scanning technology
• Has a 99.3% accuracy rate for teens
• Deletes your data after checking

The process takes about one second for face scanning. If that doesn’t work, you can upload ID documents instead.

What Other Countries?

Right now, this only affects UK users. The article mentions similar rules might come to America through something called the Kids Online Safety Act. But that hasn’t happened yet.

User Reactions

Many people are upset about these changes. One petition against the Online Safety Act got over 420,000 signatures. Users don’t like having to scan their faces or show ID just to listen to music.

This change shows how government rules affect your daily life. The UK wanted to protect kids online. Now millions of Spotify users must prove their age or lose their accounts.

The company processes these checks quickly, but the choice is yours. You can verify your age, accept limits on content, or risk losing your music library forever.

This isn’t just about Spotify. It’s about how the internet is changing. More sites will likely add similar checks as governments create new safety rules.

Remember: if you’re 13 or older and willing to verify your age, you’ll keep full access to Spotify. The real risk is for people who refuse to go through the checking process.