Spotify will let you see what friends are listening to while you talk to them

Update builds on new messaging feature that lets people chat inside the app

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Spotify will now let you see what friends are listening to as you chat to them.

Over the summer, Spotify introduced a new messaging tool to allow people to chat within the app itself. It was primarily intended as a way of sharing music with other people without actually leaving Spotify itself.

Now, the company is rolling out a new tool that will show real-time information on what those friends are listening to. It is also adding a “Request to Jam” feature, to make it easier to use that tool, which allows people to listen to music in sync together.

Spotify will also add groups to that messaging feature “soon”, it said. The company said that will only arrive in “select markets”, though not what those are.

The listening activity feature must be switched on. That is done by heading into the settings and choosing the “Privacy and social” option.

Once it is done, users will be able to see friends’ listening activity, as well as being able to click and play the track or react to it.

The update is rolling out now on iOS and Android in places where the messaging feature is already available. It will be broadly available by early February, Spotify said.

Spotify already offers the option to see what friends are listening to through its “Friend Activity” feature. That is available on the desktop app and shows live information on what other friends are listening to.

The introduction of messages last year was actually the second time around that it had tried to launch the feature. The company had previously tried to offer the feature but removed it in 2017, apparently because of a lack of interest.