Spotify’s lax privacy means anyone can see the Vice President’s song choices

A new cybersecurity “breach” has revealed the personal information of various celebrities, and while it won’t let you steal their identities, it will allow you to… judge them. The “Panama Playlists” details the Spotify song choices of notable people ranging from Vice President JD Vance to talk show host Seth Meyers to tech bros like Palmer Luckey. And technically, it wasn’t a breach at all, but a possible lack of understanding around Spotify’s privacy settings. 

Spotify has always allowed users to make playlists public or private and some even actively seek followers. On top of that, each playlist cover shows “Public Playlist” or “Private Playlist” right up top. However, the default for new playlists is “Public,” so many users may not be aware that they’re listening habits are available for the world to see — if someone looks hard enough. 

That’s exactly what the unknown creator of the Panama Playlists did: simply search for famous people and find their public playlists. The results aren’t really that interesting? Sure, it’s kind of funny that JD Vance has I Want It That Way on his “Making Dinner” playlist, ironic that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s playlist features Aretha Franklin’s Respect, and …read more