New Spotify features let parents view kids’ playback history and block them from listening to certain content
- Two new features are being rolled out on the Spotify Kids app
- They let parents view playback history and block specific songs
- Spotify is also rolling out its kids app to users in Japan and Germany
A new feature in Spotify’s dedicated kids app lets parents exercise greater control over their children’s listening habits.
The streaming giant says that two new features will now allow parents to view their kids’ listening history and also block specific content that they may find objectionable.
To use the new tools, parents who have purchased Spotify Kids can navigate to settings in their own apps and select the ‘Grown Ups’ option.
Spotify’s kids app is available on iPhone and Android but only for people with a Spotify Premium Family subscription
They can then choose which kids account they want to view and look at their respective histories, which includes anything streamed within the last three months.
In the same window, they can also block specific tracks from being listened to by kids on their accounts.
Blocked songs are linked to specific accounts meaning parents can pick and choose which songs are allowed for each child on the account separately.
It’s still somewhat unclear exactly how Spotify sees the feature being used, however, given the fact that Spotify Kids is designed to weed out objectionable content to begin with through human curation.
If anything, the feature could be a way for parents to save themselves from songs they find agitating, overplayed, or both.
Spotify also says that its standalone kids app, which was olled out in Canada and France earlier this year, will also be expanded to Japan and Germany.
Spotify has been clear that the app is still in beta stages but has been slowly expanding it worldwide availability since the service was rolled out exclusively in Ireland last October.
Among the differences between Spotify’s kids app and its regular music-streaming service are the data collection practices.
Unlike Spotify’s standard app, the kids version will now curate songs and other content based on prior listening data which makes it compliant with rules regulating data collection practices.
The experience is also ad-free and costs $14.99 per month. Each additional profile added to the account will cost the same amount with up to six profiles allowed.
Songs on the app are curated not by algorithm like other kids-centric services offered by major streaming platforms like YouTube, but by real people.
Specifically, experts who have worked with Disney, Discovery Kids and Nickelodeon are involved in the curation process.