Spotify shows you how to chat with friends to become a more social content-consuming app.
Users have been sharing Spotify links for music and podcasts with others for years. With this feature, users don't need to search for songs, as Spotify wants users to do more within the app while keeping a history of shared content.
Messages are one-on-one and only allow you to start a chat with people who have previously shared content. This means that if you have a collaborative playlist with someone, or if you join a jam or blend, you can start a conversation. This applies to families and people in duoplans. Once you submit a request, you will need to approve the request to start the conversation.
Image credit: Spotify
Outside of Spotify, if someone sends a Spotify link on a platform like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Tiktok, or other, you can tap it to approve a chat request. Alternatively, you can send an invitation link to someone you are in contact with.
The company said users should continue to share content outside of Spotify, and the new messaging feature “completes” it.
Image credit: Spotify
Users can access messages by tapping their profile photo under the Hoverber's Messages section on the left and accessing the conversation. Users can also use emojis to respond to specific messages.
The company said the messages were encrypted at rest and during transit. However, messages are not protected by end-to-end encryption. The company will actively consider the message to see if it is breaking the rules. Additionally, Spotify says that users can report messages, and the company will investigate those messages against terms of service and platform rules.
Image credit: Spotify
Last month, Gustav Söderström, chief product and technology officer at Spotify, suggested during the company's quarterly call that consumer experience will be much more interactive in the app. The new messaging feature appears to be moving in that direction.
Spotify deploys messaging features for both premium and free users age 16 and over in select Latin and South American markets only on the mobile version. The company said the feature will expand to the US, Canada, Brazil, the EU, the UK, Australia and New Zealand in the coming weeks.
Over the years, Spotify only had a few social elements that allow you to follow someone and see what you listen to. This has changed with the introduction of features such as comments from last year's podcasts and redesigned feeds focused on videos.
In an interview with TechCrunch last year, Maya Prohovnik, VP of podcast products, also did not deny the idea of commenting on the music track.
Over the past few months, social media users have complained about the Spotify interface being too cluttered with functionality. Amanda Silberling, a colleague who left Spotify for Apple Music, had similar issues.
“From the Spotify homepage to the music you're looking for, there's an overwhelming display of visual confusion,” she said.
Messages may tweak some to share more content with friends, but they can also plague those who feel the app is becoming more overwhelming. Thankfully,[設定]>[プライバシーとソーシャル]and you can disable messages.