Spotify publishes new, clearer privacy policy following complaints

It's only a couple of weeks since Spotify last updated its privacy policy, but the wording was such that many users were upset at the access the company appeared to be asking for. The backlash was so bad that the company was forced to apologize and now it has gone a step further and published a new, reworded version of its policy.

Spotify again admits that the previous version of the privacy policy led to some "understandable confusion", before launching into plain English remodeling of the document. With a new policy that is now more intelligible, the company will no doubt be hoping to claw back those users who were driven away.

In a blog post, Spotify explains that in addition to the updated privacy policy, it has also added an introduction that sets out the basic principles it incorporates. It goes on to explain that if you have already accepted the privacy policy from a couple of weeks ago, "you will be automatically covered by this update, including the clearer language, additional privacy commitments and the new Introduction and its principles". This is something of a strange move as it will almost certainly lead to users poring over the new documents looking for any changes that may have been snuck in via the back door -- something that could have easily been avoided.

The company says:

When our new Privacy Policy started rolling out two weeks ago, it created some understandable confusion. In a follow-up post, we did our best to explain the intent behind the changes in the Policy and our commitment to our users’ privacy. We also said that we would work to update the Privacy Policy to reflect what we promised in that post. As we worked to do that, we took note of many people’s comments that they appreciated the clear commitments in the blog post that were easier to understand than some of the details in the Policy itself.

The new policy is rolling out in the coming days and weeks, although only those who have not yet agreed to the previous update will see a notification of this.

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