Spotify launches a messaging feature in a bid to become more social

Spotify is introducing a way for you to chat with your friends in a bid to become a more social content consumption app.

Users have shared Spotify links for music and podcasts with others outside the platform for years. With this feature, Spotify wants users to do more within the app while also keeping the history of shared content, so users don’t have to search for a song.

Messages are only one-on-one, and you can only start a chat with someone with whom you have previously shared content. That means if you have a collaborative playlist with someone, or have joined a jam or a blend, you can start a conversation with them. This also applies to people on a Family or Duo plan with you. Once you send a request, they will have to approve it to start a conversation.

Outside of Spotify, if someone sends a Spotify link to you on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, or TikTok, you can tap on it and approve their request to chat. Alternatively, you can send an invite link to someone in your contacts.

The company said that users should continue sharing content outside Spotify, and the new message feature is a “complement” to that.

Users can access messages by tapping on their profile pictures and access conversations under the Messages section on the hover bar located on the left. Users can also react to specific messages using emoji.

The company said that messages are encrypted at rest and in transit; however, messages are not protected by end-to-end encryption. The company proactively looks at messages to check if they are breaking its rules. What’s more, Spotify said that users can report messages, and the company will investigate those messages against its terms of service and platform rules.

Last month, Spotify Chief Product and Technology Officer Gustav Söderström hinted during the company’s quarterly call that the consumer experience will be much more interactive on the app. The new messages feature seems to be a move in that direction.

Spotify is rolling out the messages feature to both premium and free users over 16 in select markets in Latin and South America, only on mobile versions. The company said that the feature will expand to the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the EU, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand in the coming weeks.

Over the years, Spotify has had only a few social elements, like being able to follow someone and look at what they listen to. That has been changing with the introduction of features like comments on podcasts last year and a redesigned feed with a focus on video.

Last year, in an interview with TechCrunch, Spotify VP of Podcast Product Maya Prohovnik didn’t deny the idea of comments on music tracks as well.

In recent months, users on social media have complained about Spotify’s interface being too cluttered with features. My colleague Amanda Silberling, who left Spotify for Apple Music, had a similar problem.

“There’s an overwhelming display of visual clutter from the time it takes to navigate from Spotify’s home page to the music you’re looking for,” she said.

While messages might nudge some to share more content with friends, it could also annoy some who have been feeling that the app is getting more overwhelming. Thankfully, you can go to Settings > Privacy and social and disable messages.