Spotify Hack On Android App Affects Just One User, Security Update Coming

Spotify is planning an update for its Android app after it detected that a hacker had breached its security and accessed internal company data, the streaming service announced Monday.

The good news for Spotify users is that it seems that only one account has been affected so far, and the hacker did not access any password, financial or payment information. The company indicated that the attack hit the mobile Spotify app for Android devices, but it didn’t provide specific details about the hack or what information was compromised.

Spotify said that it launched an investigation and will ask users to update their login information in the coming days.

“Information security and data protection are of great importance to us at Spotify, and that is why I’m posting today,” Oskar Stål, Spotify’s chief technology officer, wrote on the company’s blog.

Stål’s post indicates that only the Spotify app for Android phones seems to have been affected and that an upgrade will come in the next few days. Users will have to re-download offline playlists.

“We apologise [sic] for any inconvenience this causes, but [we] hope you understand that this is a necessary precaution to safeguard the quality of our service and protect our users,” Stål said.

Some speculate that Spotify is erring on the side of transparency in the event of a data breach to avoid the negative public reaction that companies like Target and eBay received after waiting weeks to disclose their recent, large-scale hacks.

Spotify said that iOS and Windows Phone users are safe and will not need to upgrade their Spotify app.