Spotify used up all my mobile data

[jadetermeg]

Plan: Premium

Country: Norway

Device: Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (up to date)

OS: Android 11

My Question or Issue

Spotify used up the remaining 500MB of my data plan while I wasn't actively using the phone or Spotify. I can only assume it was downloading something, but 1) It shouldn't do that, based on my settings and 2) the only playlists I have tagged for download that change in any significant way are the discover and release lists.

I make sure to open Spotify on the day of release so the get downloaded via wi-fi.

3) The active playlist at the time was fully downloaded.

Judging from what happened today, I am almost certain that the same issue ate the first half of my data allowance, since I don't stream match and when I do, never went through hundreds of MB in a single session.

This means the issue started (to my knowledge) somewhere near the beginning of the month.

One point that might be worth mentioning is that my card expired and I temporarily was without an active subscription. Though why that one thing should lead to the other is beyond me.

My settings are:

Data Saver: Off

Offline: No

Wi-Fi streaming: Auto

Mobile streaming: Normal

Download: High

Download using mobile data: Off

I noticed there was a new update today, which I have installed.

It is of course simple enough for me to reset app settings/cache and hope that the issue never occurs again.

The main problem is that I am left without any mobile data for the rest of the month, and Spotify is the cause.

I would have preferred to create a private support ticket and asked to be credited 1 month subscription (which would cover the cost of the smallest data package my phone company offers) but I couldn't find a place to do so.

Have a nice day!

[Ivan]

Hey @jadetermeg, 

Thanks for posting on the Community about this.

To avoid high mobile data usage we recommend keeping the Data Saver switched on. This will ensure the app's data usage is reduced. 

If your Premium subscription expires and your account reverts back to free temporarily, you can't listen to Spotify offline since the downloads are a Premium feature. In such a case the app starts using either WiFi or mobile data to play the content. 

We also suggest having a look at this help page for more info on Spotify's data usage. 

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any questions.