Adding a family member to Spotify Family takes about five minutes and requires their email address
Spotify Family lets up to six people share one subscription for a lower per-person cost than individual accounts. To add someone, you open the Family Plan settings in your Spotify account, enter their email address, and send them an invitation. They accept it, create or link their Spotify account, and get their own profile with separate recommendations and playlists. The person you invite does not need to already have Spotify — they can set up an account as part of accepting the invitation.
You can add members from anywhere in the world as long as everyone in the plan lives at the same address. Spotify asks you to confirm this when you set up the plan, and it checks periodically. If someone moves out, you remove them from the plan and they lose access to the family subscription.
Key Takeaways
- Open Spotify on your phone or computer, go to Account settings, find Family Plan, and select the option to invite a family member.
- Enter the email address of the person you want to add — they do not need to have a Spotify account yet.
- They will receive an email invitation and can accept it when ready to set up or link their account.
- Everyone on the plan must live at the same address, and Spotify verifies this when you set up the plan and checks it periodically.
- If someone moves out or you want to remove them, you delete them from the Family Plan settings and they lose access within a few hours.
How to send an invitation from the Spotify app or website
Start in the Spotify app on your phone or on Spotify.com on a computer. Tap or click the profile icon in the top right corner and select Account. Look for a section called Family Plan or Manage Family — the exact name varies depending on whether you are on mobile or desktop, but it will be in the Account settings area.
Once you are in the Family Plan section, you will see the current members and an option to invite someone new. Click or tap Invite a family member or Send invite. Enter the email address of the person you want to add. This should be an email they check regularly, because they will receive the invitation there. Spotify will send them a link they can click to accept.
After you send the invitation, Spotify shows you a confirmation that it was sent. The person you invited will see an email from Spotify within a few minutes. If they do not see it, ask them to check their spam or promotions folder, because some email providers filter Spotify messages there.
What happens when someone accepts the invitation
When the person you invited clicks the link in the email, Spotify takes them to a page where they can either log in to an existing account or create a new one. If they already use Spotify, they log in with their current username and password. If they do not have an account, they enter an email address, create a password, and set up a profile — this takes about two minutes.
Once they complete this step, they are added to your Family Plan when ready. They can start using Spotify right away on any device they log into with their account. Their music history, playlists, and recommendations are separate from everyone else on the plan, so adding them does not affect what you see or hear.
Removing someone from the Family Plan
If someone moves out or you want to stop sharing the subscription with them, go back to the Family Plan section in your Account settings. Find their name in the member list and look for a remove or delete option — usually a trash icon or an X button next to their name. Click it and confirm that you want to remove them.
Once you remove someone, they lose access to the Family Plan within a few hours. They can still use Spotify if they have their own individual subscription, but they will no longer be able to use the family plan you are paying for. If they try to open Spotify on a device where they were logged in, they will see a message that their access has ended.
What to do if an invitation is not working
If you send an invitation and the person does not receive the email, first ask them to check their spam folder and their promotions tab — Spotify messages sometimes land there. If it is not there, wait a few minutes and try sending the invitation again. Spotify sometimes takes longer than expected to deliver the email, especially if their email provider is slow.
If the person clicks the link but gets an error message, the link may have expired. Ask them to go directly to Spotify.com, log in or create an account, and then check their account settings to see if they are already added to the Family Plan. Sometimes the invitation goes through even if the link shows an error.
If they are still not showing up in your Family Plan after 24 hours, remove the invitation and send a new one. Make sure you are using the correct email address — if you typed it wrong the first time, the invitation went to the wrong person.
How Spotify checks that everyone lives at the same address
When you first set up a Family Plan, Spotify asks you to confirm that all members live at the same address. It does this to prevent people from sharing a family plan with friends who live in different cities or countries, which would violate the subscription terms.
Spotify checks this periodically by looking at where people are logging in from. If it sees that someone on your plan is consistently logging in from a different address — for example, a different city or country — it may ask you to verify that they actually live with you. If you cannot verify this, Spotify may remove them from the plan or ask you to downgrade to individual subscriptions.
This check is not perfect and does not happen every time someone logs in from a different location. If someone travels for a week or logs in from a friend's house occasionally, Spotify usually does not flag it. But if someone moves to a different state or country and keeps using the plan, Spotify will eventually notice.
Switching to Family Plan if you have an individual subscription
If you currently have an individual Spotify subscription and want to upgrade to Family Plan, go to your Account settings and look for an option to Change plan or Upgrade to Family. Spotify will show you the new price and ask you to confirm. Your billing date may change depending on when you upgrade, but Spotify will show you the exact date before you confirm.
Once you upgrade, you can when ready start inviting family members. You do not have to wait for a billing cycle to start — you can add people right away. If you change your mind and want to go back to an individual plan, you can downgrade at any time, but anyone you invited will lose access to the subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add someone who does not have a Spotify account yet?
Yes. When you send an invitation, the person can click the link in the email and create a new Spotify account as part of accepting the invitation. They do not need to have an account before you invite them.
What happens to someone's playlists if I remove them from the Family Plan?
Their playlists stay in their account. If they get their own individual subscription later, they can log back in and all their playlists and saved songs will still be there. They only lose access to the music streaming service itself when you remove them from the family plan.
Can I add someone who lives in a different country?
Spotify's terms say everyone on a Family Plan must live at the same address. If someone lives in a different country, they should not be on your plan. Spotify checks this periodically and may remove them if it detects they are logging in from a different country consistently.
How many people can be on a Spotify Family Plan?
Up to six people, including you. Once you have six members, you cannot add anyone else unless you remove someone first.
Can I see what music other family members are listening to?
No. Everyone on the plan has a separate account with private listening history. You cannot see what they are playing, and they cannot see what you are playing. The only thing you can see is their name in the Family Plan member list.