To add a friend on Spotify, search for their name or username in the search bar, then click the Follow button on their profile. This is the primary method to add a friend on Spotify and start seeing their public playlists and activity.
How to add a friend on Spotify by searching
Open the Spotify app or desktop client and use the search bar at the top of the screen. Type your friend's name or exact Spotify username. As you type, matching profiles will appear in the results. Tap or click on the correct profile to open it. On their profile page, locate the Follow button and click it. You are now following that friend, which lets you see their public playlists and activity updates. If you want to use dj on Spotify together, following each other makes it easy to share the queue and collaborate on listening sessions.
How to add friends on Spotify using Facebook
On the desktop app, look for the Friend Activity icon in the top-right corner, next to your Profile icon. Click it, then click the Add friend icon. Select Connect with Facebook and authorize the connection. Spotify will automatically find your Facebook friends who also use Spotify and add them to your following list. This method is useful if you want to quickly connect with many friends at once rather than searching for each one individually. Once connected, you can organize Spotify playlists together by seeing what your friends are listening to and building shared collections.
Why you might not see a friend's listening activity
Two conditions must be met for a friend's listening activity to appear. First, you must be following them. Second, the friend you are following must have Share my listening activity on Spotify enabled in their own app's settings. To check this, they need to go to Settings, then Social, and toggle the option on. If either condition is missing, their activity will not show in your Friend Activity feed. This also explains Spotify family address verification, the family plan uses address verification, not listening activity, so social settings don't affect that feature.
Social feature limits for younger listeners
Managed accounts for listeners under 13 years old have limited social features. If you are trying to add a family member who is a child with a managed account, they will not be able to follow friends or be followed. This restriction is built into Spotify's Family plan to protect younger users. If you want to see how many minutes you've listened on Spotify, that feature is separate from social functions and remains available on all account types, including managed accounts.
