Detection and prevention of inflated plays of audio or video content

A computing system comprising:

• a memory comprising instructions;
• and
• a processor communicably coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute the instructions to:
• apply a modification to a portion of an audio content to trigger user inputs at a computing device that are used to determine whether a user of the computing device is listening, via the computing device, to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• transmit, to the computing device, the audio content with the modification;
• receive, from the computing device, an indication of at least one user input obtained by the computing device while the computing device outputs the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• determine, based at least in part on the at least one user input, whether or not the user is actually listening, via the computing device, to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• responsive to determining that the user is not actually listening to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification, determine a quantity of warnings transmitted to the computing device when the multimedia streaming service determined the user was not actually listening to other audible playbacks;
• and
• responsive to determining that the quantity of warnings exceeds a threshold, terminate a connection between the computing device and the multimedia streaming service.

A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing system, cause the at least one processor to:

• apply a modification to a portion of an audio content to trigger user inputs at a computing device that are used to determine whether a user of the computing device is listening, via the computing device, to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• transmit, to the computing device, the audio content with the modification;
• receive, from the computing device, an indication of at least one user input obtained by the computing device while the computing device outputs the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• determine, based at least in part on the at least one user input, whether or not the user is actually listening, via the computing device, to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification;
• responsive to determining that the user is not actually listening to the audible playback generated from the audio content with the modification, determine a quantity of warnings transmitted to the computing device when the multimedia streaming service determined the user was not actually listening to other audible playbacks;
• and
• responsive to determining that the quantity of warnings exceeds a threshold, terminate a connection between the computing device and the multimedia streaming service.