Spotify becomes a social network: music streaming adds messages, for the second time

The latest updates to Spotify have been quite significant. The streaming service has recently launched new Audiobooks+ tariff plans that provide users with more hours of listening to audiobooks with the possibility of family access. In addition, a new feature of smooth transition between tracks has appeared, similar to a similar solution in Apple Music. Also improved integration with Instagram. Now on Spotify appeared AI-generated songs by deceased artists.

Additionally, after several delays, the long-awaited Hi-Fi plan is nearing launch. All of this is important news, but now Spotify is taking another step — this time in the social direction. In fact, the service is bringing back a feature that has already existed on the platform in the past.

Spotify has announced that it is launching a new messaging system in its mobile app. Essentially, it is “a new way to share what you love about Spotify with friends and family.” It’s worth mentioning that Spotify had its own messaging system until 2017, but then it was removed due to “very low user activity.”

Now that the feature is back, the company emphasizes that Spotify native messaging does not replace other messengers, but only complements them. As before, users will be able to share content directly through their favorite platforms — Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, and others. The new Spotify notifications are designed to work alongside these integrations, not replace them.

How the new feature works

• Go to the page of a podcast track or episode and click the “share” icon.
• If the feature has been activated for your account, a magnifying glass icon will appear on the first toolbar.
• You can use it to find the user you want to message. The list will show people you follow, people you’ve participated in a Jam session with, people you’ve already shared content with, people you’ve created a playlist with, and other contacts.
• You can also send a special link to a friend and invite them to a Spotify chat.

After the recipient confirms the request, they will be able to reply to you with texts and emojis. The full list of chats is available by clicking on your profile photo in the upper left corner.

The developers have taken care of user privacy. Thus, you can accept or decline notification requests. It is possible to block other users or refuse to use the new feature altogether in the application settings.

If you do decide to use Spotify as a music or podcast sharing platform, your conversations will be encrypted during transmission and in storage. However, there will be no full end-to-end encryption, so Spotify will still be able to access the messages if necessary.

Spotify Messages has already begun rolling out on the platform and will be available to all Spotify users — both Premium and free.

Source: androidpolice