"I found the real Spotify accounts of celebrities, politicians, and journalists. Many use their real names. With a little investigating, I could say with near-certainty: yep, this is that person."
"I've been scraping their playlists for over a year. Some individuals even have a setting enabled that displays their last played song. I scraped this continuously, so I know what songs they played, how many times, and when."
"The Panama Papers revealed hidden bank accounts. This reveals hidden tastes."
Real Spotify accounts belonging to celebrities, politicians, and journalists were located, often under real names. Continuous scraping for over a year captured playlists, last-played-song settings, timestamps, play counts, and song repetition. Publicly visible settings that show last played tracks allowed high-confidence linkage between accounts and specific individuals. The collected data maps songs to individuals with time and frequency detail, exposing private musical preferences. The scope and persistence of the collection make the revealed listening histories analogous to disclosures of hidden personal or financial information.
Read at Panamaplaylists
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