Spotify was announced on Wednesday which brings parent managed accounts for kids to the free tier. Families in the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands can now create a “Managed Account” for their child, a feature previously only available to paid subscribers.
Launched in 2024, Managed Accounts is a shared account feature that lets parents control what their kids listen to.
Because these accounts are separate, children’s music choices will not affect their parents’ algorithm or appear in their annual Spotify Wrapped experience. Kids can add songs to their favorites, create their own playlists and have their own personalized recommendations.
The expansion of Managed Accounts to free users reflects broader efforts by major tech companies to give parents more control over how their children use online platforms and what features are available to them in response to regulatory pressures.
With Managed Accounts, parents can control and limit playback of specific artists and songs. By default, children cannot listen to music marked explicit, and video playback is also disabled by default. Interactivity features are also limited to managed accounts, meaning kids can’t access age-restricted features like Messages.
Managed accounts give parents more granular control over the music their child can listen to, without requiring them to use the more restrictive Spotify Kids app.
To set up the managed account, Family Plan account holders must navigate to their account pages in the app, select “Add member” and tap “Add listener under 13 (or market equivalent)”. From there, parents will be guided through a series of steps to set up their child’s account, including choosing a display name and setting content preferences. Parents have the ability to make adjustments at any time.
Spotify says it plans to bring managed accounts to more countries soon.
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