Following in the footsteps of other tech giants, Spotify announced on Friday that it will introduce in-app parental controls in the form of “supervised accounts” for listeners under the age of 13. The new feature will initially be available as a pilot program for parents or guardians on a Family plan in select markets, including Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden.
Once enabled, parents can manage their young listeners' accounts and block videos, content playback, and even Canvas videos (looping videos that accompany music playback) for content labeled as inappropriate. Additionally, parents can use the new controls to decide whether their children can play specific artists and tracks. This gives parents more granular control over what type of music they want to expose to their children, without forcing them to use the kid-friendly but more restrictive Spotify Kids app.
Image credit: Spotify
The launch follows efforts by big tech companies like TikTok, Meta, Snap and YouTube to give parents more control over how their kids use the apps and what features they have access to, in the wake of growing pressure from regulators to rein them in. Other streaming services like Netflix, Max and Hulu also offer parents parental controls.
While Spotify isn't a TV or movie streaming service, nor is it a full-featured social app, there is a wide variety of content on the platform, some of which may not be suitable for younger listeners.
Parents who currently share accounts with their kids may also be encouraged to switch to a family plan, where each account gets individual recommendations, meaning a parent's music tastes won't be mixed up with those of their teens and vice versa, which Spotify says will make Spotify's year-end Wrapped results more accurate.
Parents can access the new feature through their account page in the app, where they can select the option to “Add listeners under 13” (or the equivalent age in their market) and follow the instructions to navigate through the different options.