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Spotify generally doesn’t use friend requests: to connect, find someone’s profile and select Follow. To see what people you follow are listening to, use Spotify’s Listening Activity feed in the desktop app. Some accounts can also see Listening Activity in Spotify Messages, but availability varies. Following someone alone doesn’t guarantee their activity will appear; their sharing settings matter too.
How to find and follow a friend on Spotify
Spotify’s current method for connecting with another user is to follow their profile. It’s different from following an artist or saving someone’s playlist: neither action necessarily means you follow the playlist’s owner. Spotify’s support instructions recommend searching for a user or opening a profile link they share with you.
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- Open Spotify and select Search.
- Enter your friend’s display name or username. On mobile, submit the search first if the filters aren’t visible.
- Choose Profiles in the search filters.
- Open the right profile and select Follow.
Names aren’t unique, so check the photo, public playlists, recently played artists if shown, or other familiar details before following. The surest option is to ask your friend to share a direct link to their profile. They can open their profile, use its three-dot menu, choose the sharing option, and send you the link; open it and tap or click Follow.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Older guides may describe connecting through Facebook or an Add Friends button. Those instructions come from older Spotify guidance; the current support route is profile search or a shared profile link.
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See what friends are listening to on desktop
Spotify documents its established Listening Activity feed for the desktop app. Open Spotify on your computer and select Listening Activity near the top of the app, beside your profile picture. You’ll see activity from people whose listening is available to you. Some versions or older guides call a similar view Friend Activity; labels and placement can vary.
Spotify’s support instructions describe this feed in the desktop app, so don’t assume that the same sidebar is available in every mobile app or in the web player. If you can’t find it in a browser, try the installed desktop app. The feed may lag and isn’t guaranteed to update in real time.
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Check Listening Activity in Spotify Messages
Spotify has also introduced Listening Activity in Messages, where connected friends or family may be able to see what someone is listening to. Open Messages, then a conversation and look for the person’s activity if the feature is available for your account. Depending on the interface, tapping an item may let you play it, add it to your library, open its menu, or react.
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Spotify announced the Messages feature in January 2026 and said it became available in group messaging on June 17, 2026. This is a separate feature surface from the traditional desktop feed: availability, controls, and placement may vary by account, region, device, and rollout. It may also depend on the people being connected in Messages. See Spotify’s announcement and update for its description of the feature.
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Let people see your listening activity
Each person controls whether their listening is shared. Turning on your own activity won’t make another person’s activity visible if they’ve turned sharing off or are in a Private Session.
On desktop: Select your profile picture, open Settings, find Listening Activity and insights, and turn on Listening activity or the similarly worded sharing option. Use any audience controls shown to choose who can see it.
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On mobile: Tap your profile picture, then Settings and privacy. Under Privacy and Social, turn on Listening activity. Spotify’s privacy and social controls cover these settings and other account-visibility options. Labels can differ between desktop and mobile or by app version. Defaults may also differ for users under 18, so check the settings on your own account rather than assuming one default applies to everyone.
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For a temporary pause in sharing, start a Private Session. Spotify says it hides activity from followers while active and automatically resets after six hours. For ongoing privacy, turn off Listening activity on mobile or the sharing option in desktop settings. Spotify notes that turning off your own sharing doesn’t necessarily prevent you from seeing friends’ activity if they have made theirs visible.
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Why can’t I see a friend’s activity?
- You haven’t followed them, or followed the wrong profile. Confirm that you opened the right profile; ask for a direct link if search results are ambiguous.
- They aren’t sharing activity. Their Listening Activity may be off, or a Private Session may be active. You can’t override another person’s privacy choice.
- You’re checking the wrong feature or platform. The established feed is documented for desktop. Messages-based activity is separate and may not be available on your account.
- The feed hasn’t refreshed. Spotify warns that Listening Activity may not update in real time; there is no guaranteed instant refresh.
- Your app or system needs attention. Update Spotify and your operating system, then restart the app. If the problem persists, log out and back in or reinstall Spotify, as Spotify recommends.
- The Messages connection or rollout isn’t in place. Check that you have the relevant conversation and allow for account, device, or regional availability differences.
Remove a follower or block someone
If you don’t want a particular person following you, Spotify lets you manage followers in the mobile app: tap your profile picture, choose View profile, open Followers, tap the three-dot menu beside the person, then choose Remove follower or Block.
Removing a follower doesn’t stop them from following you again. Blocking is stronger: Spotify says a blocked person can’t follow you or see your profile and listening activity. On desktop, you can open your profile and select Followers; Spotify says some follower-removal and blocked-list controls are limited to mobile. See Spotify’s follower-management guide for the current options.
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