In response to complaints from Facebook users, Spotfiy is introducing a new desktop client, featuring a private listening feature.
The private feature enables users to listen to music without broadcasting the song playing to Facebook’s new Open Graph platform. The platform was launched last week at the F8 developer conference.
How it works now is the Spotify client automatically interfaces with Facebook, so anybody’s friends can see what music is playing throughout the day. Spotify is recognizing that not everybody wants to the world of Facebook to know they’re playing a guilty pleasure playlist, or the Backstreet Boys, and is adding the private listening feature.
"We're rolling out a new client as we speak where you can temporarily hide your guilty pleasures. It works like a browsers private mode," Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO, tweeted yesterday.
"Temporarily means that it works for this session. If you want to turn it off completely you can do so in preferences," he later added.
Following F8, Spotify rose from 1.12 million to 3.25 million daily active users, resulting in as many as 30 percent more Facebook-integrated users than it had before F8.
Other streaming media services plan to automatically update Facebook with whatever users are watching listening or reading include Netflix, Hulu and several news publications, like the Wall Street Journal, to integrate with Facebook’s Open Graph. Spotify is the first of companies like these to add the private mode.
In related news, Spotify was recently listed as one of the five best money-saving smartphone apps. Others on the list were Red Laser, EasyMoney, Vouchercloud and Petrolprices Pro.
Rachel Ramsey is a TechZone360 editorial assistant, contributing news items and feature articles on a variety of communications and technology topics. Rachel has previously worked in PR and communications at The Wriglesworth Consultancy, an award-winning London PR firm. She has also contributed to the creative services department at CBS 3 and The CW Philly in Philadelphia. To read more of Rachel's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves