Spotify expands Managed Accounts with parental controls for kids

Spotify is expanding a feature that gives parents greater control over their children's listening by rolling out Managed Accounts to users in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The Premium Family plan add-on, which was piloted last year in several other markets, creates separate subaccounts for children under 13 so their listening does not affect a parent's recommendations or annual Wrapped summary.

Managed Accounts let young listeners keep many of Spotify's core features while giving plan managers explicit controls over content and functionality. Children can create playlists, save favorite songs and receive personalized recommendations that remain distinct from the family's main account. Parents can filter out explicit content, block specific songs, albums or artists, and hide short looping videos that appear alongside tracks. The accounts also limit interactivity features; for example, messaging and other age restricted functions are removed from managed profiles.

The company said the goal is to help families share music while allowing caregivers to tailor access. "At Spotify, we want to give parents and kids the ability...