> Do the spotify links not just open the song in some kind of web app if you dont have spotify installed?

The page won't even load if you don't have the DRM plug-in installed.

I don't think you can _listen_ to the song without an account anyway.

That was true in the past but it's no longer true. I don't know when it changed.

Yeah, the generated preview (depending on what application the link is shared in) can play a 30 second sample, but if you want to listen to the whole song you need to have an account, and if you don't have a subscription you'll likely get an ad first.

It's why I often share a youtube link instead, it plays inline a lot of the time and when it plays inline it often doesn't have ads. But that may also be because I have an effective ad blocker (for now).