Olivia Rodrigo: Spotify’s tracking is all about smoke and mirrors

Olivia Rodrigo claimed the top two positions on Spotify’s most-streamed songs list in the UK this year, with just one surprise, given her ubiquity – that the Paramore-esque Good 4 U edged out Drivers License, which is an affront to advocates for the correct use of apostrophes. While other streaming services are available, it is Spotify that has the end-of-year list sewn up; as one internet wag wisely noted, it is the only service to show off about how much it is tracking you and make it seem like fun.

A few years ago, Netflix posted a tweet that read: “To the 53 people who’ve watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: who hurt you?” At the time, it was controversial for being creepy and judgmental. Now, most of us not only shrug off big tech companies knowing what we’ve been doing and when, but help them to promote it.