Spotify Web Streaming No Longer Supports Apple's Safari

While Spotify is most commonly associated with its mobile apps, it allows desktop users to stream music through their web browser. Unfortunately that's no longer an option for those who prefer Apple's Safari, as it is no longer supported by Spotify. The abrupt change came about this weekend, surprising and frustrating many users, with the streaming service stating that Safari is now incompatible with its Web Player.

Safari users visiting the Spotify Web Player page now get the following message: "This browser doesn't support Spotify Web Player. Switch browsers or download Spotify for your desktop." Similarly, Spotify's requirements page previously listed Safari 6 and above as compatible, but now the browser has been removed, leaving Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera as the only options.

When contacted, Spotify customer support provided the following response to a user who asked about the change:

"After taking a look backstage, we can confirm that after recent updates Safari is no longer a supported browser for Web Player. We're always testing things by adding or removing features to make Spotify better overall. We're sorry that this means you're not able to use the Web Player like you could before. We can't say if or when any specific features will be back. But as soon as we've got anything to announce, we'll let everyone know via the Spotify Community."

Some clever users continued to dig into Web Player's support details, and found that the Google plugin Widevine is likely the reason Safari is no longer compatible. Spotify Web Player relies on the media plugin for copy protection, but macOS flags it for potential security issues. The good news is that Mac users aren't entirely blocked from Spotify, as the service's desktop app is easily available, or they can simply use a different browser for their tunes.

SOURCE Spotify Community