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Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

newsroom.spotify.com

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Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#51

Post by gumby »

I do see one potential customer benefit: rather than increasing your attack surface by giving two companies your CC info you just give one (google). In theory Google is going to have more security than a bunch of smaller companies.

I use Apple Pay whenever possible for this precise reason. I don't want to trust Target with my CC info.

Of course since under this scheme the company I'd be sharing my card info with is the largest dossier assembling company in the world, so I wouldn't be comfortable with it. But presumably they will collect the info anyway (even though they aren't subject to the same regulation as the credit bureaux or credit card networks), so perhaps going directly through them doesn't make things worse and at least eliminates one risk (spotify themselves).

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#52

Post by rkk3 »

nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

Maybe costing 30% more isn't worth centralizing the subscriptions

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#53

Post by adewinter »

nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

It would only make sense if the company was able to offer a discount/different price when you use their billing system vs google/apple.

Edit: though it's not clear if Google would even allow that in this case.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#55

Post by alimov »

curiousgal wrote: post #49
nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

> disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. Paypal

Ok, what if you don’t use paypal. Or if one app uses pay pal, but another wants you to use some other payment solution. You’re still stuck registering to new services and sharing your CC info. So now you also have to remember what service is used by whatever app you are trying to cancel billing for.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#56

Post by colinmhayes »

swarnie wrote: post #48

I don't understand what i'm getting here? I downloaded Spotify on to my android phone, it takes my payment and it works. For a tech non-Silibro, what does this blog post mean?

Spotify keeps more of the money when you use their payment system instead of Google's. Presumably they'll give you a discount for not using google pay.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#57

Post by nerdjon »

adewinter wrote: post #53
nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

It would only make sense if the company was able to offer a discount/different price when you use their billing system vs google/apple. Edit: though it's not clear if Google would even allow that in this case.

That is the only use case I could think of, but I would have expected if that was the case it would have been communicated in this release.

It looks like on iOS Spotify is $13 a month vs $10 a month on their website. I don't see anywhere https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.mu... that specifies in app purchases but I assume it is the same.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#58

Post by prophesi »

curiousgal wrote: post #49
nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

> disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. Paypal

Could also use privacy.com though iirc it only works at masking debit cards.

But yeah, this burden shouldn't be offloaded to users to make sure they're using a different centralized service to actually cancel subscriptions.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#59

Post by ocdtrekkie »

> “Android has always been about openness and user choice,” said Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management at Google.

Oh **** off. Publish the Android MADA to the public, lol. Also, reinstate Fortnite then?

Great, you cut a deal, can we not pretend that it's an openness thing though? We know it's not.

Re: Spotify and Google Announce User Choice Billing

#60

Post by nerdjon »

rkk3 wrote: post #52
nerdjon wrote: post #45

As a user, why would I choose this? I only see a benefit to developers for this, but from a user prospective going with another system is a downgrade. Assuming google works like Apple (correct me if I am wrong), disabling a subscription should be able to happen from a central location with a click or 2. If I instead go with the billing through a company not only do they now have my credit card information, but I have…

Maybe costing 30% more isn't worth centralizing the subscriptions

I fully understand that I am... maybe closer to people here but in the grand scheme of things financially I am in a better state than most people.

But so I was curious, I have $762 worth of subscriptions a year through Apple. So I could save $228.60 if they were all 30% less.

To me that is worth it. But I would also like to point out, that many of the apps I am subscribed too. I am only subscribed too because it was easy through Apple and I knew that I could cancel. I have a number of expired ones that I used for 6 months or a year but I didn't need anymore. A few that I have right now fit this but I am still actively using them.

If it wasn't for this central subscription, they would have never gotten my money to begin with.

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