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Nearly entire Spotify catalogue scraped by shadow library group
STOCKHOLM: An activist group has claimed to have scraped tens of millions of tracks from Spotify, raising fresh concerns over copyright abuse and the use of pirated content to train artificial intelligence systems.
Anna’s Archive, a group known for linking to pirated books, said it had extracted 86 million audio files from Spotify along with 256 million rows of metadata, including artist and album information. Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million tracks and has over 700 million users worldwide, said the data did not represent its full catalogue.
As per a Guardian report, the Stockholm-based streaming firm said it had “identified and disabled” user accounts involved in unlawful scraping. An internal investigation found that a third party had scraped public metadata and used illicit methods to bypass digital rights management to access some audio files.
The company added that it did not believe the music had yet been released publicly. Anna’s Archive, however, said the files would eventually be shared via torrents as part of what it described as a “preservation archive” for music, claiming the material covered 99.6 per cent of all music listened to by Spotify users.
Spotify said it had introduced new safeguards against “anti-copyright attacks” and was actively monitoring suspicious behaviour. The episode adds fuel to an intensifying global debate over copyright, as artists and creators push back against AI firms trained on vast quantities of unlicensed material.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
