This is even more important since Spotify ditched its in-app messaging Inbox in February in favor of shortcuts to share via SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp and other chat apps.

They tap the dots to show the code, you scan with the search camera and you’re listening. Now if a friend is listening to a song and you want to hear it too, you don’t have to get them to fish out a link, open a messaging app, send it to you then you open it in your browser before it deeplinks into Spotify. You can try it yourself by scanning the code for this new song by sultry indie dance band Cathedrals: You also can upload a screenshot or photo of a Spotify Code to scan it when you see it shared in another app like Instagram or over text message. To scan one, go to the search bar, tap the camera icon then hover the camera over a code on a phone, computer screen or printout. To pull up a Spotify Code, just tap the “three dots” button on the right side of the screen while playing a song, or looking at an artist or playlist.

After receiving a tip from reader Moshe Isaacian, we reached out to Spotify for info, and the company said it will share more details on Monday. Spotify Codes could make it easier for friends to share music with each other and artists to promote their work. Scan these Spotify Codes with the new camera in the Spotify app’s search bar to instantly play that music.

The new Spotify Codes feature creates a unique barcode and album cover image for every song, album, artist, and playlist. Spotify has taken a tip from Snapchat with its new feature for sharing music via scannable images.

How to scan spotify code on iphone