Spotify Doubles Down on Social Music Sharing with Real-Time Listening Activity
Spotify is expanding its messaging platform with two new social features designed to keep users engaged on the app. The streaming giant has introduced Listening Activity and Request to Jam, allowing users to see what friends are listening to in real time and easily start collaborative listening sessions directly through the platform’s messaging interface.
What’s New: Listening Activity
The new Listening Activity feature displays what your contacts are currently streaming at the top of your message chats. If someone isn’t actively listening, their most recently played track appears instead. Users can tap on a friend’s activity to play the track, save it to their library, access the track menu, or react with one of six available emojis.
The feature is fully opt-in, accessible only to users aged 16 and older who have already connected through Spotify Messages. Users can enable it through Privacy and Social settings and disable it at any time.
Request to Jam: Collaborative Listening Made Easy
Complementing Listening Activity is the Request to Jam feature, which lets users invite friends into live listening sessions. Premium users can tap the Jam button in the top right corner of a message chat to send an invitation. If accepted, the recipient becomes the host, and both users can add tracks to a shared queue and listen together. Free users can join Jam sessions when invited by Premium subscribers.
Expanding Social Features
Spotify’s messaging platform launched in August 2025 and has already attracted nearly 40 million users who’ve exchanged hundreds of millions of messages. Currently, messaging is limited to one-on-one conversations with people you’ve previously shared content with, such as playlist collaborators or Jam participants.
Rollout Timeline
Both features are rolling out gradually to iOS and Android devices in markets where Messages is available, with broad availability expected by early February 2026. The platform suggests songs based on both users’ taste profiles, making it easier to discover tracks you’ll both enjoy.