A new requirement by the music-streaming service Spotify that new subscribers must have a Facebook account is upsetting members of the online streaming service, which debuted in the U.S. this summer.
The rising number of complaints on message boards and Twitter led to Spotify issuing an official statement, explaining that the move "seemed logical," as many of its users already link their Spotify accounts to Facebook.
“As most of our users are already social and have already connected to Facebook, it seemed logical to integrate Spotify and Facebook logins,” the company said.
“Think of it as like a virtual ‘passport,’ designed to make the experience smoother and easier, with one less username and password to remember. You don’t need to connect to Facebook and if you do decide to, you can always control what you share and don’t share by changing your Spotify settings at any time.”
Spotify said that users who do not want to share their information on Facebook can delete the app within their Facebook profile app settings, but a Facebook ID will still be required to log in to the service.
Spotify recently opened up its service to U.S. subscribers with free six-month access to more than 15 million songs. The move followed several months of invite-only access.