Spotify Adds 9 New Features in 2026, Expanding Social, Discovery and Ad Tools

8 articles · Updated · Boy Genius Report · May 28

Spotify has rolled out nine 2026 features so far, spanning social listening, recommendation controls, artist verification, video settings, fitness content and new ad formats.
Messages gets two of the most visible additions: Listening Activity shows friends what you are playing in real time, while Request to Jam lets users share a live queue remotely; the jam feature requires Premium, though free users can join a Premium host.
Discovery and control tools also broadened. Taste Profile reshapes home-page recommendations across music, podcasts and audiobooks, Prompted Playlist builds mixes from text prompts and listening history, and new video controls let users limit or disable visuals across devices.
Spotify is also tightening trust and monetization. A Verified Badge and Artist Profile Protection aim to reduce impersonation and metadata mix-ups, while advertisers can now buy Sponsored Playlists and Carousel Ads with performance data.
The update extends Spotify's push beyond music streaming alone, adding features for Basic and Premium users after 2025's lossless-audio upgrade and signaling more platform changes ahead.

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