Spotify would possibly lastly allow you to choose an actual username (APK teardown)

Spotify has been steadily reworking from a pure music-streaming service right into a social media platform. Final yr, the corporate launched in-app Messages, and simply yesterday, it quietly expanded that function with group messaging assist. Now, we’ve found proof within the newest Spotify app that implies the corporate could also be getting ready one other long-requested improve: editable usernames.

Whilst Spotify provides extra social options like Jams, Blends, collaborative playlists, and now messaging, discovering individuals on the platform remains to be awkward.

In contrast to conventional social media networks, Spotify doesn’t allow you to seek for somebody by a singular username. Looking out by show identify additionally isn’t very useful when hundreds of customers can share the identical identify. Messaging somebody new isn’t simple both.

As The Verge factors out, Spotify presently limits messaging to individuals you’ve already interacted with by means of its different social options. You possibly can’t simply search for a person globally and begin chatting with them, until you utilize invite hyperlinks. However we’ve discovered proof that Spotify might quickly dispose of this limitation.

In model 9.1.20.1132 of Spotify’s Android app, we noticed new code strings that strongly counsel that the platform is engaged on permitting customers to edit their usernames.

There’s additionally an inside description that explicitly reveals what’s coming:

A web page that permits modifying the person’s social deal with (referred to as username within the UI)

That wording is essential. Spotify isn’t simply cleansing up labels, it’s clearly framing usernames as social handles, a time period that’s largely used to explain person profiles on conventional social media apps than in music gamers.

Present Spotify usernames and what’s altering

Spotify technically already has usernames, however they don’t seem to be in any respect user-friendly, and haven’t been for years.

Since 2018, all new Spotify accounts obtain routinely generated alphanumeric usernames. Earlier than that, customers might select their very own distinctive username throughout account creation. As soon as set, this username turned everlasting and couldn’t be edited.

The present auto-generated usernames additionally function distinctive identifiers in your account, which is why Spotify doesn’t allow you to change them.

That setup works high quality for a personal listening app. However with messaging, group chats, and different social options coming into the image, the dearth of easier, customizable usernames is changing into extra evident by the day.

These new editable usernames ought to make it simpler to search out and work together with Spotify customers with out counting on hyperlinks or earlier interactions. What’s unclear is when the function will roll out and if the present alphanumeric usernames will live on in some kind, on condition that Spotify binds them to customers’ accounts.