Spotify is making changes to its API usage in Developer Mode. The updates include requiring a Premium account, reducing the number of test users, and limiting the list of available endpoints.
Spotify is making changes to its API usage in Developer Mode. The updates include requiring a Premium account, reducing the number of test users, and limiting the list of available endpoints.
The company launched Developer Mode in 2021, which allowed testing apps with up to 25 users. Spotify is now limiting that limit to five people per app and requiring developers to have a Premium subscription, TechCrunch reports .
If developers need to make their application available to more users, they will need to request a quota extension.
Spotify says these changes are aimed at limiting risky use of the platform through AI or automation.
“Over time, the advancement of automation and artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the usage patterns and access risk profile for developers. At Spotify’s current scale, these risks require more structured controls,” the company noted in its blog.
“For individual and hobby developers, this update means that Spotify will continue to support experiments and personal projects, but within more clearly defined limits. Development Mode provides an isolated environment for learning and experimentation. It is intentionally limited and should not be used as a basis for building or scaling a business on Spotify,” the company said.
The company is also discontinuing support for several API endpoints, including the ability to retrieve information such as new album releases, an artist’s top tracks, and the markets where a track may be available. Developers will no longer be able to perform actions such as adding or removing tracks, albums, or audiobooks through the development mode API, nor will they be able to retrieve information about an album’s label, artist’s subscriber data, and artist popularity.
