[Android] Disable BMW Connected Drive Integration Takeover

[sfinkel]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

Pixel 3

Operating System

Android (Probably all)

My Question or Issue

I have a real issue with (at least) the Spotify + BMW Connected integration as I feel it makes the Spotify app experience worse in terms of user 1. functionality 2. experience 3. safety once enabled.

Before I get in to my actual issue here, I want to give context.  BMW has an app of their own called BMW Connected.  My car (2019 aka most recent) also has a Spotify integration built in to the car media system/RTOS.

Disregarding the BMW + Spotify integration for a second to talk about app behavior, when a phone is connected to bluetooth and the Spotify app is opened via the phone, here's what happens:  The app launches, music usually starts playing, and the app displays content.  This is great and exactly what I desire to happen.

Now, let's talk about the integration.  After installing the BMW Connected app (and it might just be this, but might also have to click on the Spotify integration), this is no longer the behavior.  When you choose to open Spotify now, the app is suddenly hijacked by an injected "Safety Note" screen sponsored by none other than BMW. Then, the user, has to then find and press the tiny "UNLOCK" button at the bottom of the screen to actually get past and in to the app.

I have several issues with this.

Functionality:  As a user, I want to play music.  As a user, I do not want to click on safety notices to play my music.  Worst case:  I will acknowledge a safety notice once, Spotify should then detect/store whatever it can about the bluetooth/integrated device it is connected to, know that my account has approved the safety notice, and skip the integration's prompt screen if I have - never ask me again.  Better, give me the option in settings to disable safety notices and if this has to be done per integration, I'll do it;  It's better this than always having to click through the screen each time I launch the app.

Experience:  As a user, I do not want to be upset every time I open the app.  As a user, (and PS - a premium user of several years now) I am actually really upset every time I open the app.  Having to click another button just to get in to the app is really annoying.  So, then it's like, "Do I disable the whole thing to get back original functionality?"  It just really boils me.  I shouldn't have to disable the integration (or maybe it's even uninstalling the BMW Connected app) to prevent this screen from being injected at time of app launch.

On top of this, when the integration is enabled, there is a persistent notification via Android notification pane that says something like "Spotify Connections enabled".  I could have that exact wording wrong, but the point is:  the notification can not be dismissed!  It just sits there taking up space in the notification drawer and yeah, I know this might be an Android app lifecycle issue where a persistent notification is needed to keep the background activity alive, but my god - it's super annoying having that notification just sit there and take up space like that!

Safety:  To start, let's be honest:  Many people use Spotify when they drive.  Also, while it may not be safe, many people also navigate/search/scroll in app while they drive.  Google Assistant can be used to fire up Spotify and play a song without needing to touch the app, all in a hands-free way.

That said, this all goes to **bleep** after this integration is enabled.

Now, not only does the app not launch and play music immediately (which almost 10/10 causes the driver aka "me" to take their eyes off the road), but they must also take at least one of their hands off the wheel to find the small button on the injected safety notice screen (*cough* sponsored by BMW) which needs to be selected before the app can actually launch.

How is this more safe?

Simple answer:  It is not.

For a company who does such a great job at metrics/tracking/user behavior, I would encourage Spotify to go find out the actual answer to my proposed one above.  I guarantee that increasing the amount of time a driver spends with their eyes/hands/attention away from the road will not yield a result of: "more safe."

So, in conclusion, I am not sure how to fix this and who is to blame, but as user, I want to be able to disable this BMW "takeover" of the Spotify app without disabling the actual BMW integration as a whole.

Thank you,

- sean

[doovdevan]

This is a problem and a safety issues for me as well. I am an adult and don't need repeated reminders about driving rules. Especially when those "safety" reminders actually distract me from driving and require me to press multiple buttons while I am driving.