According to Android Authority, a teardown of Spotify’s Android app version 9.1.20.1132 reveals code strings pointing to a new, editable username feature. This would reverse a policy from 2018, when the company stopped letting new users choose their own unique handles and started assigning auto-generated alphanumeric ones instead. The move comes as Spotify aggressively pushes social features like in-app messaging, group chats, Jams, and collaborative playlists. Currently, finding and messaging users is clunky, limited to people you’ve already interacted with or require shareable links. Editable usernames could finally make the platform’s social networking ambitions feel functional.
Spotify’s Social Problem
Here’s the thing: Spotify has been trying to become a social app for years. And it’s been awkward. You can’t just search for a friend by a cool name. You’re hunting for “user_7b7c83a1” or hoping their display name isn’t shared by ten thousand other people. The messaging feature they launched last year? Basically useless for connecting with new people unless you’ve already blended a playlist or they send you a direct link. It’s a mess. The platform is building a social house on top of a foundation designed for private listening, and it shows. Every new feature highlights this core flaw.
Why Now, And What’s The Catch?
So why bring back a feature they killed in 2018? The answer is obvious: their current strategy isn’t working. If you want people to actually use your app to chat and share music socially, you need a basic directory. You need a @handle. But this isn’t a simple fix. Those ugly alphanumeric strings aren’t just names; they’re unique account identifiers baked into Spotify’s backend. Unraveling that is a technical headache. Will old usernames become a hidden “friend code” while you get a new public handle? Will there be a land rush for good names? And let’s be skeptical—how long until we see verified artist handles and paid username changes? I’d bet on both.
A Broader Platform Shift
Look, this isn’t just about usernames. It’s about what Spotify wants to be. Every music streamer has the same catalog. The differentiation now is in experience and community. Spotify is betting hard on being the place where you don’t just listen, but you share and talk about what you’re listening to. It’s a risky pivot. Remember when every app tried to be a social network? Most failed. But if they’re going to commit, fixing the basic plumbing—like how you find someone—is step one. It’s a necessary move, but it’s also an admission that their previous social tools were half-baked from the start. Will a username change be enough, or is it too little, too late?
