Is Spotify killing your laptop?

It probably is, if you have a solid state hard drive (SSD).

I use Spotify - a LOT. I have it installed on multiple devices: laptops, desktops, smartphones, and even smart TV's. However, there is a SERIOUS BUG that has been present in Spotify on Windows, Mac, and Linux for months - if you're not already on v1.0.42, you'll want to update immediately. Here's why:

SSDs have limited lifespans

Solid State Drives (SSDs - the storage media in many new laptops), while more reliable than "old fashioned" hard drives because they have no moving parts, have a little-known weakness in that each part of the drive has a limited number of "write" operations it can tolerate. In other words, it will actually "wear out" to a point where data can no longer be reliably stored. In fact, drives include "wear-leveling" so that the parts you use are spread out over time instead of having the first half of your drive wear out while the unused portion is still brand new.

For most people, this isn't an issue - normal "daily use" on a laptop's solid state hard drive falls well within what most would expect as the lifespan for the product. You're more likely to see other components - like the screen or such - fail before the internal hard drive fails.

Your version of Spotify may have a bug that causes it to continuously write and rewrite data to the hard drive - hundreds of gigabytes per day - which will diminish the life of the drive.

What should you do?

First of all, check your version and if necessary, update to v.1.0.42.

Secondly, a user quoted in an Ars Technica article put it this way: "If for example, Castrol Oil lowered your engine's life expectancy by five to 10 years, I imagine most users would want to know, and that fact *should* be reported on." Taking it a step further, I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of class action suit popped up somewhere. If you're a heavy Spotify user (you just leave the program running nonstop, so you're probably in the terabyte-per-day range), I'd stay tuned - because Spotify may owe you a new hard drive.

How did this happen?

For those technically curious, here's the basics:

Spotify uses SQLite, which has a function called "VACUUM" that essentially works to compact the database - think of it as a "cleanup" to remove empty rows and otherwise minimize the space the database requires. Generally, it's a good practice to do such things. Spotify, unfortunately, calls this function continuously and redundantly. As in, it doesn't even wait for records to change in the database to check indicate there might be something to "vacuum" - it just runs repeatedly. Oops.

About the Author:

Mike McTaggart is a Digital Transformation Leader and president of Global Digital, a Digital Transformation consultancy. With an engineering mind, a passion for technology, and a commitment to integrity, he has led software, sales, marketing, and content generation teams from 5 to 50+, and has helped dozens of organizations - large and small - realize the potential that technology brings to business. He has a reputation for thoughtful, measurable, and strategic leadership through change and uncertainty. In an age of digital transformation, Mike (and the rest of Global Digital) can help you craft the strategy, build consensus, and produce actionable data-driven plans to cut through all the noise.