Spotify Launches Real-Time Listening Activity and Request to Jam Feature

Spotify has added two new features to its in-app Messages system, introducing listening activity and Request to Jam to make it easier for users to see what friends are listening to and start shared listening sessions. The latest updates extend these social tools by adding real-time visibility into listening habits and simpler ways to coordinate remote group listening within the app on mobile devices. Notably, Spotify launched Messages in August last year and said nearly 40 million users have sent close to 340 million messages since then.

Spotify Now Lets You See What Your Friends Are Listening to in Real-Time

The company said that listening activity allows users to share the music they are playing within Spotify Messages in real time, or their most recently played track if they are not actively listening.

The feature is optional and can be enabled through Privacy and social settings. Spotify said listening activity is visible only to friends and family members a user has already connected with on Messages, and users can control who sees their activity or turn it off at any time.

Once enabled, Listening activity appears in the Messages side drawer and at the top of individual chats. Users can tap a contact's activity to play the track, save it to their library, open the track menu, or react using one of six preset emojis. Users can view others' listening activity even if they have not enabled their own, provided the other person has opted in.

Alongside Listening activity, Spotify has introduced Request to Jam, a feature that allows users to start remote Jam sessions directly from Messages. Jam enables multiple users to listen together and add songs to a shared queue, and Spotify said daily active use of the feature has more than doubled year over year.

Spotify Premium users can send a Jam request from the in-app chat using the Jam button. The recipient can accept or decline the invitation, and if accepted, becomes the host of the Jam session. Both participants can add tracks to the shared queue and message each other while listening. Jam invitations expire if they are not accepted within a few minutes, Spotify explained.

The company said that Jam participants can see each other's display names and receive song recommendations based on their combined listening preferences. Users can leave a Jam at any time. Free users can join a Jam when invited by a Premium subscriber, but cannot initiate a session themselves.

Listening activity and Request to Jam are rolling out on iOS and Android devices in markets where chats are available, with broader availability expected by early February. Listening activity is available to all users with access to chats, while Request to Jam requires a Premium subscription to initiate. Because both features are part of Messages, they are limited to users aged 16 and older.