Remember Apple Ping? Steve Jobs introduced it as a bold experiment at an Apple Music event in San Francisco in 2010: an “Social Network for Music” manufactured in iTunes 10. This allows users to follow the artists, see what friends were listening, and directly share music within the iTunes. Now, in 2025, Spotify is giving another shot to this idea.
The company has launched a new message feature, providing users to share and chat about music, podcast and audibook inside the app. Rolling this week, it will be available for free and premium users of 16 years and above in select markets on mobile devices.
Currently, sharing a spotify link usually means copying it or sending it through WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram or other apps. Spotify believes that users will make the recommendations more comfortable and social to give the option to share content directly inside the app. For reference, Apple Ping was never caught and closed quietly within two years.
From the user’s point of view, it can only appeal to those who often bind on music. But for spotify, it can be a new source of data to personalize recommendations. Spotify can consider what type of track spark conversation you are with with whom you are sharing and helping to refine the recommendations and search. So, it is important to have a friend with the taste of good music!
How do messages work
Messages act as a-one-one chat where users can share spotify materials, react with lessons, and react with emojis. To start, listeners can now select the share icon from the playing screen, choose a contact, and send a hit. Once accepted the message request, both the user can continue interacting with music, podcast, or audibook while chatting inside the app.
Contacts will be suggested based on previous interactions, including whether users have previously shared the Spotify content, participated in the collaborative playlist, joined the mixtures or jams, or shared a family or pair plan. Messages can be accessed by user’s profile photos in the top left corner.
Spotify has clarified that messages are not to change integration with other platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp or Ticketok. Instead, the purpose of this feature is to supplement the existing sharing options by giving the audience a native place to discuss their recommendations.
Users have complete control over their interactions. They can accept or reject messages requests, block accounts, and completely exit through the feature through the settings. All conversations are encrypted into both transit and comfort. Spotify will also use proactive detection techniques to scan for harmful or illegal materials, while the model will handle the report of violations.
According to the company, this is the beginning of its efforts to make it more comfortable only within the app. Spotify is planning to expand and refine the messages in the coming months for wider audience globally.
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