The Latest Spotify Update Adds Privacy Options And Further Lock Screen Integration

A little earlier today, the Spotify iPhone app was updated with a few new features that make the experience less clumsy and add a little privacy, The introduction of the background audio feature in previous iOS versions made it possible to listen to songs through third-party music apps, get driving directions from navigation apps, and so on without needing to worry about keeping that specific app active. In addition, users had access to basic playback controls but one thing was still missing when using third-party music apps versus the iPod app: currently playing song information and cover art. Thankfully, this limitation has been lifted with the introduction of iOS 5. After updating to Spotify v0.4.21 on your iDevice running iOS 5.0 or later, the lock screen will now display the album artwork associated to the song currently being played through Spotify, similar to Apple's iPod app experience. And also like the iPod app, pressing the Home button twice while viewing the lock screen will reveal artist, album, and song name amongst the playback controls. Seemingly so simple, although, very significant in regard to efficiency. Our next topic for today's Spotify update is privacy. Two new options have been added to the Settings area that make it possible to keep your current listening choices a secret. First up, you can now enable or disable Facebook wall posting. As a second option, enabling Private Session will go a step further and prevent postings to Facebook's Open Graph feature. The setting will be reverted after six hours of no Spotify activity. A bit more minor but still notable ais the addition of feature highlights for new Spotify mobile users and a requirement change. As the case for many apps taking advantage of new iOS features, today's Spotify version moves up the minimum iOS version to 4.0. While it shouldn't be a problem for most, it's still something to consider if you're reading this and wondering if hitting the update button is worthwhile. Spotify is designed for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.0 or later, and available in the App Store as a free download.

Mentioned apps

Related articles