Rdio launches Protected Accounts, lets you keep listening data private

Rdio’s always forced you to bare your listening habits for the world to see, a fact that some users haven’t appreciated. Now the the company’s changing its tune and introducing Protected Accounts, which let you pick and choose who can see your data. Protected Accounts work like restricted accounts on Twitter: you have to approve every follower request, and only the users you explicitly allow can see your data on the service. There’s no granular control — anyone you approve can see all your listening data, playlists, and the like — but it does allow you to only share with people you choose, or even to keep your Rdio usage entirely private.

The company’s blog post announcing Protected Accounts says it’s just the first of its new privacy features, so we expect to see more similar tool in the future. But this is a good first step, allowing you to listen to all the Carly Rae Jepsen deep cuts you want without fear of the repercussions.