Table of Content
Spotify’s bid to become a more social platform took a significant step forward this week, as the company officially unveiled its in-app messaging feature for music and audio sharing among friends and family.
Messaging Arrives to Spotify
Spotify’s new messaging tool enables one-on-one chats, giving users a streamlined way to share tracks, podcasts, and audiobooks directly within the app instead of relying on external platforms like WhatsApp or Instagram. The feature is available to both free and premium users aged 16+ in select Latin and South American markets on mobile, with plans to expand to North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the coming weeks.
How It Works
Messages can be initiated only between users who have previously interacted on Spotify, such as through collaborative playlists, Jams, Blends, or shared Family/Duo plans. To start a chat, the recipient must first approve a request. Users can also join conversations via external Spotify links shared on social media apps; tapping such a link opens a prompt to approve chat access. Conversations are reachable by tapping the user’s profile picture, and users are able to react to individual messages with emojis.
Privacy and Safety Features
Spotify messages use industry-standard encryption both in transit and at rest, but lack full end-to-end encryption, meaning the company can proactively scan messages for breaches of platform rules. Users can report inappropriate content or block others, and opt out of messaging entirely through privacy settings.
Social Experience and Platform Strategy
The launch aims to deepen user engagement, letting fans discover fresh music and audio directly in-app. While Spotify continues to support sharing across third-party platforms, it positions messaging as a “complement” to those integrations, not a replacement. The move follows other recent social upgrades, such as podcast comments and video-focused feeds.
Industry Reception
Spotify’s expansion of social features reflects feedback from users seeking more cohesion and better recommendations inside the app. The company anticipates further development in the social experience, stating in its newsroom, “This is just the beginning.”
With messaging, Spotify signals its intention to be more than a streaming service, pushing toward an ecosystem where discovery, conversation, and community can thrive in one place