Spotify Is Limiting These Features For Free Users India 

Another benefit that free Spotify users in India will lose is the ability to click backward on a song.

Spotify added that free tier users will get improved recommendations with "Smart Shuffle" functionality.

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Swedish music streaming giant Spotify on Monday announced limiting some features for free users in India. Starting today (October 5) Spotify users in the free tier in India will not be able to repeat songs, select a specific part of a song to listen to and play songs in a particular order. With this, Spotify's free users in the country will have access to fewer benefits. The music streaming giant has said that this is an attempt to make free music listening experience more consistent across all markets. The move is likely to urge more users to opt for Spotify's paid subscription. 

Spotify added that free tier users will get improved recommendations with "Smart Shuffle" functionality to "keep the listening experience fresh".

Another benefit that free Spotify users in India will lose is the ability to click backward on a song. The music streaming giant will let users only forward on a song.

However, there will be no limit to the number of hours users can stream music on the platform. This comes at a time when Spotify's rival Gaana, among others, have switched to only paid subscriptions over the past year. 

Earlier in July, Spotify's paid subscribers base hit a new high at 220 million. The Swedish music streaming giant said it touched 551 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 220 million paid users, during its second quarter (Q2) earnings call.

According to the music streaming giant, all regions outperformed and saw higher MAU additions compared to the prior year period, driven by improved retention and marketing efficiencies.

Spotify announced a hike in its prices in the US and several other markets globally in July. Similar price hikes were done by music streaming services Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music Premium.