Spotify Car Thing: Difference between revisions
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|description=The Spotify Car Thing was a physical device that allowed extended control of the Spotify app. When connected to a device running the Spotify app the Car Thing accesses an API for communication with the app, interacting with the Car Thing attempts to make API calls for interaction. Production of the Car Thing stopped The product ceased functioning on December 9th when the Car Thing API was shutdown, preventing the device from interacting with the Spotify app. | |description=The Spotify Car Thing was a physical device that allowed extended control of the Spotify app. When connected to a device running the Spotify app the Car Thing accesses an API for communication with the app, interacting with the Car Thing attempts to make API calls for interaction. Production of the Car Thing stopped The product ceased functioning on December 9th when the Car Thing API was shutdown, preventing the device from interacting with the Spotify app. | ||
|summary_1_1=Freedom summary | |summary_1_1=Freedom summary | ||
|incidents_1_title=Production discontinued | |incidents_1_title=Production discontinued<ref name=":0">[https://archive.is/9F9Jk "Spotify’s Sordid Car Thing History—Here’s a Timeline of the Disastrous Hardware Release" - archive.is - archived 2025-01-28]</ref> | ||
|incidents_1_date=July 27, 2022 | |incidents_1_date=July 27, 2022 | ||
|incidents_1_text=Production of the Car Thing is quietly halted due to poor sales.<ref>[https://archive.is/Lodo1 "What Happened to Spotify’s Car Thing? Spotify Exits Hardware"] - archive.is - archived 2025-01-28</ref> | |incidents_1_text=Production of the Car Thing is quietly halted due to poor sales.<ref>[https://archive.is/Lodo1 "What Happened to Spotify’s Car Thing? Spotify Exits Hardware"] - archive.is - archived 2025-01-28</ref> | ||
|incidents_2_title=Price reduced from $89.99 to $29.99 | |incidents_2_title=Price reduced from $89.99 to $29.99<ref name=":0" /> | ||
|incidents_2_date=August 20, 2022 | |incidents_2_date=August 20, 2022 | ||
|incidents_2_text=Spotify reduced the price by $60 in order to clear out their stock. The SCT would eventually sell out. | |incidents_2_text=Spotify reduced the price by $60 in order to clear out their stock. The SCT would eventually sell out. | ||
|incidents_3_title=Root access in the SCT is cracked by Security researchers | |incidents_3_title=Root access in the SCT is cracked by Security researchers<ref name=":0" /> | ||
|incidents_3_date=October 20, 2022 | |incidents_3_date=October 20, 2022 | ||
|incidents_3_text=Root access was gained on the SCT through local means.<ref name=": | |incidents_3_text=Root access was gained on the SCT through local means.<ref name=":1">[https://archive.is/WFjUd "Spotify Car Thing - Root and Custom OS toolkit"] - archive.is - accessed 2025-01-28</ref> While this is damning for the SCT's security it was not significant to consumer security, it merely gave consumers the ability to repurpose the device by uploading their own software. There is a risk that resold SCTs could contain malware but this is an unlikely target. Spotify's response to the exploit was "that the product is unsupported, and end-of-life, and therefore no bugs would be accepted pertaining to the product" <ref name=":1" /> which is actually the first time Spotify officially announced the discontinuation. The bypass guide is available [https://github.com/oddsolutions/superbird-bulkcmd | here] | ||
|incidents_4_title=Total discontinuation announced | |incidents_4_title=Total discontinuation announced | ||
|incidents_4_date=May 23, 2024 | |incidents_4_date=May 23, 2024<ref name=":2" /> | ||
|incidents_4_text=Spotify official announces the Car Thing's discontinuation on their website warning users that it will cease functioning entirely after December 9th, effectively [[Self-destructive design|discontinuation bricking]] the device. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250128235625/https://support.spotify.com/us/article/car-thing-discontinued/ | "Car Thing discontinued"] - archive.org - archived 2025-01-28</ref> | |incidents_4_text=Spotify official announces the Car Thing's discontinuation on their website warning users that it will cease functioning entirely after December 9th, effectively [[Self-destructive design|discontinuation bricking]] the device. <ref name=":2">[https://web.archive.org/web/20250128235625/https://support.spotify.com/us/article/car-thing-discontinued/ | "Car Thing discontinued"] - archive.org - archived 2025-01-28</ref> | ||
|incidents_5_title=SCT API is shut down and removed from the Spotify App | |incidents_5_title=SCT API is shut down and removed from the Spotify App<ref name=":0" /> | ||
|incidents_5_date=December 9, 2024 | |incidents_5_date=December 9, 2024 | ||
|incidents_5_text=The removal of the Spotify Car Thing API completely bricked all Car Things in distribution. | |incidents_5_text=The removal of the Spotify Car Thing API completely bricked all Car Things in distribution. | ||
|summary_2_1=Privacy Summary | |summary_2_1=Privacy Summary | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 00:26, 29 January 2025
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| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2022 |
| Product Type | Physical application extension |
| In Production | Discontinued, December 2024 |
| Official Website | archive.org |
The Spotify Car Thing was a physical device that allowed extended control of the Spotify app. When connected to a device running the Spotify app the Car Thing accesses an API for communication with the app, interacting with the Car Thing attempts to make API calls for interaction. Production of the Car Thing stopped The product ceased functioning on December 9th when the Car Thing API was shutdown, preventing the device from interacting with the Spotify app.
Consumer Impact Summary
User Freedom
- Freedom summary
User Privacy
- Privacy Summary
Consumer Protection Incidents
Production discontinued[1] (July 27, 2022)
Production of the Car Thing is quietly halted due to poor sales.[2]
Price reduced from $89.99 to $29.99[1] (August 20, 2022)
Spotify reduced the price by $60 in order to clear out their stock. The SCT would eventually sell out.
Root access in the SCT is cracked by Security researchers[1] (October 20, 2022)
Root access was gained on the SCT through local means.[3] While this is damning for the SCT's security it was not significant to consumer security, it merely gave consumers the ability to repurpose the device by uploading their own software. There is a risk that resold SCTs could contain malware but this is an unlikely target. Spotify's response to the exploit was "that the product is unsupported, and end-of-life, and therefore no bugs would be accepted pertaining to the product" [3] which is actually the first time Spotify officially announced the discontinuation. The bypass guide is available [https://github.com/oddsolutions/superbird-bulkcmd
Total discontinuation announced (May 23, 2024[4])
Spotify official announces the Car Thing's discontinuation on their website warning users that it will cease functioning entirely after December 9th, effectively discontinuation bricking the device. [4]
SCT API is shut down and removed from the Spotify App[1] (December 9, 2024)
The removal of the Spotify Car Thing API completely bricked all Car Things in distribution.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Spotify’s Sordid Car Thing History—Here’s a Timeline of the Disastrous Hardware Release" - archive.is - archived 2025-01-28
- ↑ "What Happened to Spotify’s Car Thing? Spotify Exits Hardware" - archive.is - archived 2025-01-28
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Spotify Car Thing - Root and Custom OS toolkit" - archive.is - accessed 2025-01-28
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 | "Car Thing discontinued" - archive.org - archived 2025-01-28