Spotify Wrapped 2022: How the app is using students’ data
Since its debut in 2016, Spotify Wrapped has been a hotly anticipated end-of-year tradition for many Spotify users. With it dropping this week, students are already sharing their most listened-to artists, songs, and playlists on their Instagram and Snapchat stories via Spotify’s easily shareable features.
Students love Spotify, not only because they can stream music instantly from the app, but also because Spotify brings a personalized touch to listening to music and allows users to connect with friends through music. Shared playlists, Discover Weekly, and Spotify Wrapped are just a few of the projects that keep students interested and wanting more. However, students should be aware of how Spotify is using their data to create these features and think critically about how much information they want to share on the platform.
All about Spotify Wrapped
Each year, Spotify puts a new spin on wrapping up your year of listening in its highly anticipated Spotify Wrapped. With its easily shareable images, students can show off that they were in the top 1% of Taylor Swift listeners or that they listened to Harry Styles’ “As It Was” 200 times in 2022.
While Spotify Wrapped always includes your most listened-to song, artist, and album, the music platform also incorporates new engaging features each year. Last year, users got to play the “two truths and a lie” game as well as learn what their “audio aura” is. Interactive, personal, and unique features like these are what set Spotify apart from the competition and keep students coming back year after year.
Big Data: How Spotify became the go-to music streaming service
Spotify is the world’s most popular music streaming service, with over 165 million users in 2021. The platform creates a curated experience, in an attempt to not only succeed in the business world but also integrate itself into internet culture, through features like Spotify Wrapped. This is not an easy feat, but Spotify has kept up with the current pace of the modern age by utilizing “Big Data” to stay relevant.
Big Data focuses on analyzing large systems of data, which allows companies to take action, like displaying personalized ads based on things like your Google search history. Spotify utilizes Big Data to create the projects that make them stand out from their competitors and create loyalty from a younger fan base. Spotify uses Big Data to provide its users with personalized playlists based on listening trends and of course the ever-popular Spotify Wrapped, which tracks a user’s listening history for an entire year.
TSI’s Take
Students love Spotify because they can discover new music, connect with friends through its features, and find playlists that are perfectly suited to their moods. To do this, however, Spotify collects personal data when you sign up, use the service, provide personal information, and use Spotify when connected to a third party. So as your students excitedly share their Spotify Wrapped this year, remind them to be aware of how apps gain access to and use their personal information.
In our #WinAtSocial Grade 8 Protect Your Privacy Like You’re Famous Lesson, Examining How Free Apps and Websites Use Our Personal Data, we help students understand how companies use their data and how to update their privacy settings for apps and devices. You can help your students protect their privacy by encouraging them to always be mindful of the information they are sharing on social media.
Looking for more strategies on how to equip your students to protect their privacy as they navigate social media and tech? Contact us today for a personalized demo!
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in understanding student experiences and creator of #WinAtSocial, a gamified, online learning platform that equips students, educators, and families to navigate social experiences — online and offline — in healthy ways. Our unique, student-respected approach incorporates topics like social media, technology use, and current events that have a significant impact on student well-being. Lessons teach life skills for the modern day to inspire high-character decisions that support the health, happiness, and future success of students, while capturing data that provides insights to school leaders to inform school policy and communications, and enable high-impact teaching and a healthy learning environment. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities.