6 Spotify Privacy Settings for Private Sessions and Playlists

Like other social media platforms, Spotify lets you create public and collaborative playlists to spread and share your melodious discoveries. However, being in the public eye all the time can be a bit exhausting. Let’s see how to turn on Spotify’s privacy settings to keep sessions and playlists private.

Depending on the level of privacy you want and if you prefer to go anonymous, you can start by changing your Spotify profile name. Alternatively, you can keep sessions and playlists private using other Spotify privacy settings. We’ll take a closer look at how to make Spotify private.

1. Change profile name

If you use Spotify to share public playlists, or simply don’t want your friends and family to find your account, changing your profile name can help. You cannot change your username, but your public display name will change. Please follow the steps below.

Using Spotify Web

step 1: Open Spotify and click your profile icon.

Open Spotify web player

Step 2: next,[プロファイル]Click.

Step 3: Now click on your profile name.

Step 4: change the name to whatever you want,[保存]Click.

Using the Spotify Mobile App

step 1: Open the Spotify mobile app.

Open the Spotify iOS app

Open the Spotify Android app

Step 2: Here, tap the gear icon.

Step 3: next,[プロフィールを表示]Tap.

Step 4: Tap your profile name.

Step 5: Then change the profile name,[保存]Tap.

This will save your changes and display the modified profile name.

2. Create a private session

As the name suggests, Spotify Private Sessions allow you to listen to music in a private location. This way, no one can see your listening activity when the private session setting is turned on.

However, please note that private sessions on Spotify Web will last until you open the Spotify app window. Once completed, the individual session will end. On the Spotify mobile app, private sessions, on the other hand, only last 6 hours from creation.

Follow the steps below to create a private session on Spotify using the desktop and mobile apps.

Using Spotify Web

step 1: Open Spotify and click your profile icon.

Step 2: here,[設定]Click.

Step 3: Then scroll down to[ソーシャル]View the section.

Step 4: Now turn on the toggle for Start a private session and listen anonymously.

This will display a lock icon at the top of the screen. This means that a private session has started.

Using the Spotify Mobile App

step 1: Open the Spotify mobile app.

Step 2: Tap the gear icon to open Settings.

Step 3: next,[ソーシャル]go to the section[プライベート セッション]toggle on.

This will instantly enable private sessions on Spotify.

3. Clear viewing history

Spotify doesn’t explicitly make your listening history public, but if you set your listening activity to public, other users can see what you’ve been doing. So, to make your Spotify activity private, you can start by changing your listening activity to private. Then, to take it one step further, clear your listening history as well.

Check out our article to learn how to view and clear your listening history on Spotify.

4. Block unwanted users

Blocking a user on Spotify may sound drastic, but we all the time run into people who don’t want access to our information. They will not be able to access your profile, follow you, or see your listening activity.

Here’s how to do it using the Spotify desktop and mobile apps.

Using Spotify Web

step 1: Open Spotify.

Step 2: Then click the search bar.

Step 3: Here, search for the user you want to block and click the username from the search results.

Step 4: Once your profile is displayed, click the three dots icon.

Step 5: next,[ブロック]Click.

Step 6: once again,[ブロック]Click. This will block the user on Spotify.

Using the Spotify Mobile App

step 1: Open the Spotify mobile app.

Step 2: Then from the bottom menu[検索]Tap a tab.

Step 3: Here, tap the search bar.

Step 4: Then enter the name of the person you want to block and tap the name from the search results.

Step 5: Then tap the three dots icon.

Step 6: Tap a block.

Step 7: once again,[ブロック]to confirm.

This will prevent users from accessing their Spotify profile.

5. Make your playlist private

When you create private playlists on Spotify, no one can access them except you. This setting is not enabled by default, but there is an option to go to your playlist and set it to private.

However, make sure no users have been added to the old playlists, as they may still be able to access the playlists after they have been made private. Follow the steps below to make your playlist private on Spotify.

Using Spotify Web

step 1: Open Spotify.

Step 2: Now click on the playlist you want to make private.

Step 3: Then click the three dots icon.

Step 4: here,[非公開にする]Click.

This will instantly make the playlist private. If you want to make other playlists private as well, repeat the above steps for all playlists individually.

Using the Spotify Mobile App

step 1: Open the Spotify mobile app and tap the relevant playlist.

Step 2: Then tap the three dots icon.

Step 3: here,[非公開にする]Tap.

Step 4: [非公開にする]again to confirm.

This will make the playlist private on Spotify.

Spotify allows you to link your account to your Facebook account. This way you can find your friends, share what music you’re listening to, and even check what your friends are listening to. However, if you want to keep Spotify private, unlink your Facebook account from Spotify.

To do this, open the Spotify desktop app[設定]Open the menu and[ソーシャル]Unlink your Facebook account from the section. You can also check our detailed guide on how to unlink Spotify from your Facebook account.

BONUS: Turn off personalized ads using Spotify settings

Privacy settings not only affect what other users can see about us, but also what data is available on Spotify and how it is shared. Spotify claims not to share personal data, but it does share limited data with advertisers to serve ads that match your preferences.

This can be anything from your previous play history to playlists you’ve curated using Spotify. However, Spotify also understands that not everyone is comfortable sharing their listening habits. Along with this, you have the option to turn off data sharing for personalized ads.

Note: This can only be done using the Spotify web app.

step 1: Open the Spotify web app.

Step 2: Click your profile icon.

Step 3: next,[アカウント]Click. This will open another Spotify settings window.

Step 4: From the menu option,[プライバシー設定]Click.

Step 5: [カスタマイズされた広告]Scroll down to the section[カスタマイズされた広告のために個人データを処理する]Toggle off.

Step 6: here,[はい – オフにする]Click.

This prevents Spotify from sharing personal data with third-party advertisers to provide a more personalized advertising experience. Additionally, if you have linked your Facebook account to your Spotify profile, you can also stop Spotify from accessing your personal data other than your sensitive login information.

Step 7: To do this, go to the Facebook data section and click[Facebook データを処理する]Toggle off.

Step 8: once again,[はい – オフにする]Click.

This prevents Spotify from accessing unauthorized personal information from your Facebook account.

Spotify privacy settings FAQ

Make Spotify Private

Sharing your activity on Spotify is a great way to bond with friends and family, but you need a break. We’ve shown you all the ways to keep your sessions and playlists private using Spotify’s privacy settings. Check out our separate article on jamming on Spotify using your Amazon Echo device.