How To Add A Family Member To Your Spotify Account

While Spotify has proven to be a convenient alternative to buying individual albums, many people are feeling the impact of its Premium plan price increases. Thankfully, with the Spotify Family Plan, you can add up to six users who can enjoy all the benefits of a Spotify Premium subscription at a fraction of the price.

The Spotify Premium Individual plan costs $10.99 per month, while the Spotify Premium Family plan costs $16.99 per month for six accounts, which comes out to around $2.83 per user. With a $8 price difference, the Spotify Premium Family plan costs significantly less than an individual plan. That is — if you find enough paying family members to split it. However, the Spotify Premium Family plan can be worth it even if you don't fill all six slots. 

Compared to other Spotify Premium plans, the Spotify Premium Family plan also lets you enjoy additional benefits, such as access to Spotify Kids and managing the access to explicit music for each member. So, if you have children in the family or live in a full house with enough people who like music, a Premium Family plan can be the perfect subscription for you. Once you have decided to upgrade your Spotify Free account or an existing Spotify Premium subscription to a Premium Family subscription, here's how you can add more people to your plan.

When adding new members to your Spotify Family plan, you'll be able to invite existing Spotify Free users, so they don't need to lose their existing playlists and saved songs. Otherwise, users can easily sign up for new accounts to join your subscription. Once you've signed up and paid for your Spotify Family plan, here's how to get started adding family members through your Spotify app on mobile.

1. On your mobile phone, launch the Spotify app.
2. In the upper-left corner of the screen, tap your profile picture.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. In the Settings tab, select Account.
5. In the Account tab, tap Premium Family.
6. Under Plan members, tap X account(s) available at the bottom of the screen.
7. Tap Add a listener. 
8. Share the invite link with your family members.

During the process, it's important to check if you still have remaining slots for your subscription. If not, you will need to remove a Spotify Family plan member first before you can proceed.

If you tend to use Spotify on your desktop, you can also add a new member to your Spotify Family from there. Here's how to check how many members your Spotify Family Premium plan has and how to invite new users via the desktop app. 

1. On your computer, launch the Spotify app.
2. In the upper-right corner of the screen, click your profile picture.
3. Click Account and wait for Spotify to open the account overview page on your default browser. Alternatively, you can also go directly to your browser and go to the Spotify account overview page.
4. Under Subscription, click Manage members.
5. Under Plan members, check if you still have an available slot. If there are fewer than six members, you can proceed with the rest of the instructions.
6. On the right side of the Plan members section, copy the link provided or create an invitation using Messenger, WhatsApp, or email.

After they sign up, plan members can use Spotify's premium features, including access to Spotify Jam, ad-free music, and offline listening.

If you're a new Spotify Family plan member who just received the subscription link via direct message, email, or social media platform, here's what you have to do to finalize your membership.

1. Click the Spotify Family plan subscription link shared with you.
2. Under You're invited to Premium Family, click Accept invite.
3. Log in to your existing Spotify Free account via Google, Facebook, Apple, or username and password. If you are using Spotify for the first time and don't yet have an account, you can also sign up for one on the spot.
4. After signing in to your Spotify account, type your home address in the space provided. During this process, it's important to make sure the address you choose matches the one that the plan manager used to set up the Spotify Family plan.
5. Click Confirm.

If the signup process is successful, you'll be able to see the Welcome to Premium Family banner. Then, you can proceed to use your Spotify account with its new features. In addition, the plan manager will receive an email confirming the new user and showing the number of existing users in the plan.

How To Deep Clean An Android Device Safely

Your smartphone is something that's handled hundreds of times each day. Many people carry their phones with them at all times, including to the kitchen and the toilet. As a result, your phone comes in contact with a variety of surfaces, many of which might be dirty or covered in bacteria. In fact, a study has even claimed that phones carry 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. If you're cleaning your toilet every day, or even every few days, you should be doing the same with your phone.

Whether you have a water-resistant Android smartphone, or one without any protections, the method to deep clean it is pretty much the same. It's a good idea to get into the habit of cleaning your smartphone daily, and deep clean it at least once a week. Since smartphones are electronic devices, you'll need to be especially careful while cleaning them, as damaging the surface or ports can result in an expensive trip to the service center.

Before cleaning your smartphone, unplug any chargers or cables, remove the case and accessories, and turn it off. The best tool to clean your phone is a microfiber cloth. This will clean the surface of the smartphone without scratching it — something regular cloth and even paper towels can't do. 

If you don't have a microfiber cloth on hand, you can use the lens cloth that comes with a camera cleaning kit or glasses. Use the cloth to wipe the screen and back panel of the phone to get rid of dust and grime. Be careful not to apply too much pressure.

You can also lightly dampen the cloth with distilled water — just make sure not to get the cloth too wet. To disinfect a smartphone, most phone brands recommend using an alcohol-based solution consisting of 70 percent ethanol or isopropyl alcohol. Avoid pouring water or alcohol solution directly on the smartphone, and stick to dampening the microfiber cloth instead. 

If you really want to make sure germs are dead, you can invest in a UV sterilizer light. This will kill any microbes on the surface of the phone, but won't get into the nooks and crannies. 

Cleaning the surface of a smartphone is one thing, but it's also important to remove gunk from the ports. This includes the charging port, the headphone jack (if you're lucky enough to own a phone that still has one), and the holes for the speaker and microphone. You probably don't need to be cleaning these ports daily, but it's good to give those crevices a deep clean every once in a while to make sure there's nothing lodged in there.

While it might seem tempting to use a metal pin to scrape out dirt, this can cause permanent damage to your phone. Metal conducts electricity, and smartphones are electronic devices. Use a wooden toothpick instead. Gently use the tip of the toothpick to scrape out any dirt and lint, making sure to just go around the edges of the port and not push in too deep.

Wipe down the toothpick on a piece of cloth or tissue, and repeat until all the dirt has been dislodged. Whatever you do, ensure the end of the toothpick doesn't break off inside the phone, as this can get stuck inside the ports and cause damage when pulled out. If there's any dirt collected around the ports after cleaning, use a cloth to wipe it away.

A Clorox wipe might get rid of any surface bacteria on your smartphone, but it can damage the glass. Some smartphone displays have an oleophobic coating that resists fingerprints and repels oil, and this can deteriorate if disinfecting wipes are used. This is particularly true of wipes that contain bleach or vinegar. Conventional glass cleaners and hand sanitizers should not be used to clean smartphones either.

Many modern Android flagships come with an IP68 water-resistance rating, but this doesn't mean they can be rinsed under running water and washed with soap. You should avoid directly spraying your smartphone with any sort of liquid, whether that's water, soap, or a household cleaner. If your smartphone gets excessively wet while cleaning, wipe it with a dry microfiber cloth and wait a few hours for the water to evaporate from the ports before attempting to charge it.

Another thing to avoid while cleaning a smartphone is using compressed air, particularly around the speakers and ports. High pressure air can blow more dust and dirt into ports, and even cause condensation if cold air comes in contact with the phone.

Getting into the habit of deep cleaning your Android phone is great, but all that effort goes to waste if you put it back into a dirty case. Your phone's case is very likely dirtier than your phone, given that it's what comes into contact with your hands and surfaces the most. Cases are made of various materials, including rubber, silicone, plastic, and leather, and the cleaning method for each is different.

If you have a rubber, silicone, or plastic case, first wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. Next, soak the case in a solution of warm water and dish soap, and scrub it gently using an old toothbrush. Some phone cases have an inner microfiber layer that prevents the rear panel of a smartphone from getting scratched. 

If your phone case has this, avoid soaking it in water, and clean the outside with a microfiber cloth that's been dampened with dish soap solution instead. You can also use a disinfecting wipe to clean your case.

If you have a leather phone case, wipe it down with a very slightly dampened cloth. Avoid too much exposure to water, as this can cause stains. You can also use a dedicated leather cleaner to wipe the case, and follow up with a conditioner to keep the material supple. After cleaning any type of phone case, it's important to let it dry completely before putting it back on the smartphone.