Spotify is taking another step toward becoming a social platform, not just a streaming app. After quietly introducing one-to-one messaging last August, the company is now rolling out group chats, allowing users to share what they’re listening to with up to 10 people at a time.
The feature lets users exchange podcasts, playlists, and audiobooks directly inside the app, but with an important limitation. You can only start a chat with people you already have a listening connection with. That means collaborators on a playlist, people you’ve joined a Jam or Blend with, or users you’ve previously shared content with.
In other words, Spotify isn’t trying to create cold DMs. It’s reinforcing existing micro-communities built around shared taste.
This rollout fits Spotify’s long, careful approach to social features. Over the years, the platform has added elements like:
- following other users,
- seeing friends’ listening activity,
- comments on podcasts,
- collaborative playlists,
- Blends and Jams.
Group chats feel like a natural extension of that ecosystem, but notably not a replacement for external messaging apps. Spotify has previously stated that in-app messaging is meant to complement, not replace, how people already share music via WhatsApp, iMessage, or Instagram. The message is subtle but clear: Spotify wants to be the place where listening happens together, without becoming a full-blown social network.
What’s interesting isn’t the chat itself, it’s what Spotify is optimizing for. Music and podcasts have always been social objects. They’re recommendations, reactions, inside jokes. Group chats formalize behavior that already exists, while keeping it lightweight and contextual.
By limiting chats to people with shared listening behavior, Spotify avoids spam, performance pressure, and the toxicity that plagues open social feeds. Taste remains the entry point.
Privacy, with caveats
Spotify says messages are encrypted at rest and in transit, but they are not end-to-end encrypted. That’s consistent with Spotify’s positioning: this isn’t meant to be private messaging infrastructure, but a social layer built around content discovery.