Music streaming giant Spotify is expanding its Managed Accounts feature to more markets — including Canada — and to more subscription tiers.
Managed Accounts is a feature that allows people to create a Spotify account with additional restrictions and content controls. The feature is primarily aimed at parents who may want to create a separate Spotify experience for a child. (As a parent, I know firsthand how quickly a toddler’s music tastes can mess up an algorithm!)
But more than just keeping parents’ algorithms pure, Spotify wants Managed Accounts to give young listeners their own space to explore music safely. And in an age where big tech companies seem more interested in rotting the brains of children to make a quick buck, Spotify’s Managed Accounts seem a little more thoughtful.
Spotify says Managed Accounts offer a music-only experience, removing access to a lot of the other content the streamer offers. That means video content and things like Canvas, Spotify’s short, looping visuals, are disabled by default. Similarly, Spotify disables user-to-user features for Managed Accounts, making them private and unsearchable, unable to send or receive messages, and without profile pictures.
However, Managed Accounts will still have access to Spotify’s music catalogue (with an explicit content filter), the ability to create playlists, and access to Spotify’s personalization features like Daylist, Discover Weekly, and more. Managed Accounts also get their own dedicated Wrapped experience (thank goodness).
Perhaps the biggest change, however, is the expanded availability. Previously, Managed Accounts were exclusive to Family Plan subscribers in select regions, but now the feature is rolling out to many countries, including Canada, starting July 15.
Beyond just expanded regional availability, Spotify is making Managed Accounts available to other subscription tiers, including the free, ad-supported tier. That means anyone can create a Managed Account for their kid, but it also means free Managed Accounts will need to hear ads.
Thankfully, Spotify is being thoughtful about that too. The streamer told MobileSyrup in an email statement that instead of typical ads, free Managed Account users will hear “short Spotify-made educational messages explaining features of their own account, like how to build a playlist or find new music.”
“These messages are not targeted and each one is human-reviewed for age-appropriateness,” Spotify said. “It’s also worth noting that Spotify doesn’t disclose personal data of young listeners on managed accounts to advertising partners.”
Creating a Managed Account on Spotify. | Image credit: Spotify
Parents can create a Managed Account by tapping on their profile in the top-left corner of the Spotify app, then tapping ‘Add account’ and ‘Create a managed account.’ Managed Accounts can work on a separate device or on a parent’s device, with easy account switching. For same-device setups, the parent account will require a PIN to access, so kids can’t easily bypass the Managed Account restrictions.
Spotify’s Managed Accounts are also forward thinking, offering the ability for accounts to migrate into full-fledged adult accounts as younger listeners age out of the restrictions.
Overall, these changes seem pretty good on the surface. As a parent, I’ll definitely start experimenting with Managed Accounts, if for nothing else than getting some control of my own algorithm away from my toddler.
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