Building on top of the in-app messaging feature, Spotify is introducing two new add-ons: Listening Activity and Request to Jam, which enable users to share their listening activity and enjoy a jam session with their loved ones.
Listening activity gives users a real-time look at what music their friends and family are listening to, while Request to Jam makes it easy to quickly turn those moments into shared listening sessions, says Spotify.
Share Listening Activity on Spotify
This is an opt-in feature that allows you to display what music you’re currently listening to within Messages in real time. Once enabled, activity appears in the chat row of the side drawer and at the top of Messages chats.
How to enable/disable listening activity sharing with friends on Spotify?
- Open the side drawer menu on Spotify
- Click the “View profile” button
- Head on to “Privacy and social settings.”
- Enable/disable “Listening Activity.”
- If enabled, you’ll get an option like “who can view your activity,” where you can manage who gets access to your listening activity in real time.
Do note that the listening activity is only shared with people you’ve already messaged on Spotify.
Request to Jam on Spotify
In addition to seeing which song your friend is listening to, you can also request to jam if you’re a Spotify Premium user. If the request is accepted, your friend becomes the host of the Jam session. From there, both participants in the Jam can add tracks to a shared queue and listen together.
How to listen to a song together with your friend on Spotify?
- Go to the Messages chat of your friend who’s actively listening to a song
- Tap Jam in the top right corner to send a request for a remote Jam.
- Your friend will receive the request and can either accept or decline.
- If accepted, both can listen to and enjoy songs together.
Note: You should be a premium user to request a jam. Free users can join a Request to Jam session when invited by a Premium user.
Availability
The new features are now rolling out to users in Messages-enabled markets, including India, on iOS and Android devices, and will be broadly available by early February.
Listening activity is available to all users with Messages access, and Free users can join a Request to Jam session when invited by a Premium user. Because both features are part of Messages, they’re available to users aged 16 and above.