How to Add Friends in Spotify and See What They Are Listening

Whether you're looking to see what your pals are jamming to, want to introduce them to a new artist, or collaborate on the ultimate playlist, Spotify's “Add Friends”-feature is your gateway to a more communal music experience.

Spotify, beyond being a mere music streaming platform, is also a social network of sorts. It allows users to connect, discover, and share music seamlessly. By adding friends, you not only get insights into their musical tastes but also get recommendations, share playlists, and even collaborate on creating the perfect mix. The process of adding friends is straightforward, whether you're using the desktop application or the mobile app. And with options to link other social media accounts, like Facebook, the process becomes even more effortless.

In this tutorial, we'll guide you step-by-step on how to add friends on Spotify, share your favorite tunes, and enhance your music listening experience. So, let's dive in and make your Spotify journey a shared adventure!

How to find the Spotify ID / Spotify Username

Every Spotify user is assigned a unique identifier, often referred to as the Spotify ID or Username. This ID is essential for various tasks, such as sharing playlists or adding friends directly. In this section, we'll guide you on how to locate the unique Spotify ID, either on your PC to share it with others or so you can follow another user with your own Spotify account.
 
Here we show how this works on Spotify-desktop or the Spotify web-app. You can do this also with the Spotify mobile app, as we show in the Method “How to Share Your Spotify-Profile with Friends via the Mobile App” below.

1. Click your profile picture and select “Profile”
    
   
   
2. Click the three dots and then “Copy link to profile”
    
   Paste the link somewhere. It will look similar to the following link, showing the Spotify-username where it says “username”:
    
   https://open.spotify.com/user/username?si=1d5224e8b4be4825
    
   
   

How to Add Friends on Spotify on a Computer

The desktop version of Spotify offers a user-friendly interface to enhance your music-sharing experience. If you're using Spotify on a computer, this method will walk you through the steps to seamlessly add friends, following them to peek into their musical world.

1. Open the Spotify user-page via search
    
   Type “spotify:user:” followed by the Spotify-username.  To find a user called bigfunmusiclover this would be “spotify:user:bigfunmusiclover”.
     
   
   
2. This will open the Spotify-userpage where you can click “Follow”
    
   

How to Find Friends on Spotify Mobile

For those on-the-go, the Spotify mobile app is a handy tool to stay connected with your musical circle. This section will provide a step-by-step guide on how to add friends using the mobile app, ensuring you're always in tune with your friends, no matter where you are.

1. Tap “Search”
    
   
   
2. Open the Spotify user-page via search
    
   Type “spotify:user:” followed by the Spotify-username.  To find a user called bigfunmusiclover this would be “spotify:user:bigfunmusiclover”.

   
   

3. Tap “Follow”
    
   

How to Share Your Spotify-Profile with Friends via the Mobile App

You can use this method to share your own Spotify-profile with your friends so they can follow you. 

1. Tap on the “Settings”-symbol
    
   
   
2. Click “View Profile”
    
   
   
3. Tap the three dots on the upper right
    
   
   
4. Tap “Share”
    
   
   
5. Choose the app you want to share your Spotify-profile with or tap “Copy link” to share it manually
    
   To see your Spotify-username, paste the link somewhere. It will look similar to the following link, showing the Spotify-username where it says “username”:
    
   https://open.spotify.com/user/username?si=1d5224e8b4be4825 
    
   
   

How to Remove a Friend / Unfollow on Spotify Desktop

There might be instances where you'd want to declutter your friend list or maintain privacy. Whatever the reason, this method will guide you on how to remove a friend from your Spotify list, ensuring your listening experience remains tailored to your preferences.

1. Click your Spotify profile picture and then “Account”
    
   
   
2. Click on where it says how many users you are following
    
   
   
3. Click on one of the Spotify users you are following
    
   
   
4. Click on the button that says “FOLLOWING”
    
   
   
5. Doing this you will unfollow that user
    
   
   

How to Unfollow / Remove a Friend on Spotify Mobile

This method will guide you on how to remove a friend from your Spotify list using the mobile app.

1. Tap the settings wheel on the top right
    
   
   
2. Tap on “View Profile”
    
   
   
3. Tap where it says “Following”
    
   
   
4. Tap on the Spotify user you want to unfollow
    
   
   
5. Tap on the button that says “Following”
    
   
   
6. This will unfollow that Spotify-user
    
   

How to See What People Are Listening to on Spotify in the Friend Activity Sidebar

Spotify's Friend Activity Sidebar is a great feature that allows you to see what your friends are currently listening to. If you're curious about the latest tracks your friends are enjoying or looking for some music inspiration, this section will show you how to activate this feature and stay updated with your friends' musical choices.

1. Click on your Spotify profile picture and select “Settings”
    
   
   
2. Activate the option “See what your friends are playing”
    
   
   
3. This will add a sidebar that shows the activity of your friends
    
   

Extra: How to Change Your Spotify Username and Profile Picture

Whether its from an old alias or due to a literal name change, everyone needs to change their username at one point or another. Performing a Spotify username change is actually quite easy. You can do it straight from your desktop app without having to open your browser. Our other guide will show you how to change your username and profile picture in Spotify.
 

Extra: How to Download Spotify Songs to MP3

While you can download songs from Spotify using its premium feature, you may have noticed that it doesn't download to MP3. Instead, it stores them in an encrypted format that can't be used by other media players. This is no good for our purposes. To make sure your music is available no matter what, you may be wondering how to download a song from Spotify as an MP3 and store it locally. Our other guide shows you how to download songs from Spotify as MP3-files.