Spotify levels up social features with group messaging rollout

New Delhi: Spotify is now expanding its in-app messaging feature by adding the latest support for group chats. The music streaming platform is now enabling users to chat with up to 10 people at once. This newest feature now allows users to discuss and share the songs, podcasts, playlists, and audiobooks they are now listening to, without leaving the Spotify application. Last year, the company unveiled its Messages, a dedicated in-app space for sharing songs, podcasts, and audiobooks with their friends and family.

The latest group chats option is part of Spotify’s ongoing efforts to make its platform more social. Spotify users mostly shared music links outside the application, but the messaging feature, which was introduced earlier, brought those conversations into the application. Spotify first introduced its direct messages in August last year, enabling users to share what they are listening to privately. With the group chats, the experience remains similar, but with some limitations. Users can only start a chat or add people they have previously interacted with on Spotify.

Users can start chats on Spotify only with the people they have previously interacted with on the platform, such as by sharing content or creating collaborative playlists. If there has been no prior interaction, users cannot begin a conversation unless they invite the person through a shared link. Spotify has approach is meant to keep the conversations more relevant and limit unwanted messages. Over time, the Spotify has also added some of the impressive features like podcast comments, following other users, and options to see what friends are listening to.

Spotify has reported that messaging is not meant to replace sharing music on different applications, but to work along with the ways users already discuss music outside Spotify. Spotify has also stated that the messages are encrypted both at rest and in transit. The chats do not use end-to-end encryption means Spotify can still access message content if it is required for the users.