How to Clear Your Spotify Listening History on Desktop and Mobile

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services globally, and it keeps track of your listening history. While this feature can be beneficial for recommending music based on your preferences, you may want to clear your listening history for privacy reasons. This article will guide how to clear your listening history on Spotify. 

How to Clear Your Spotify Listening History

Why would you want to clear your Spotify listening history, you ask? Well, there are several reasons why you might find it useful. Well, by clearing your listening history, you can maintain privacy and keep your musical taste confidential, especially if you share your Spotify account with others. Whether you want a fresh start or simply enjoy organizing your music library, managing your listening history allows you to curate your Spotify experience.

How to Find Your Listening History on Spotify on the Desktop 

There are multiple ways to find your listening history on Spotify desktop. We will list all the possible ways for you to perform the necessary actions.

Method 1: From the Recently Played Section 

This is one of the most common to view your listening history on Spotify. The steps are quite easy to follow. And the best part is that the steps are common for Windows and Mac. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Launch Spotify on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2: From the player down below, go to Queue. 

go to Queue

Step 3: Under Queue, select the Recently played tab.

Note: This tab will be missing if you use Spotify’s web player.

Select the Recently played tab

Step 4: You will see your Spotify listening history. 

Spotify listening history

That’s it. You can now scroll and replay the track you recently played. If this method is too long for you to follow or you want another way to find your Spotify history, move to the next method.

Also Read: How to remove followers on Spotify desktop and mobile app

Method 2: From the Home Section 

Unlike the abovementioned method, this method only shows you the playlists and artists you played and searched. This also includes single tracks you choose to play from some playlists. Follow the below-mentioned steps.

Step 1: Launch Spotify on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2: Scroll and find the Recently played section. Click Show all right in front of Recently played section to open the full list.

Click the Show all button

Step 3: In the Recently played section, you will see a list of playlists you played.

you will see a list of playlists you played

From here, you can take necessary actions such as replay, ‘Add to queue,’ download, or ‘Remove from Your Library.’ If you can’t access Spotify desktop and want to execute the same on mobile, continue reading.

How to View Your Listening History on Spotify on Mobile 

Like the Spotify desktop, the methods and steps involved are the same for the Spotify mobile app. We list two ways to view and access recently played tracks on Spotify. 

Method 1: From the Recently Played Section 

This method is straightforward, so much so that it barely involves any steps. Follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Launch Spotify on your Android or iOS device. From the Home tab, tap on the clock icon at the top.

Step 2: In the Recently played screen, you will see a list of tracks you played recently. 

you will see a list of tracks

There you have it. Once on the Recently played screen, you can scroll through the tracks and like, ‘Add to playlist or queue’ or play them again. If you want to know an alternative to this method, check out the next method.

Method 2: From the Home Section 

Spotify keeps most of the playlists, songs, and artist pages in the home tab for easy access. Follow the below-mentioned method.

Step 1: Launch Spotify on your Android or iOS device. 

Launch Spotify

Step 2: Scroll down to the Recently played section from the Home tab.

Scroll down to the Recently played section

You will see a list of playlists and artists you played recently. You can long press Like, Follow, or if it is your playlist, you can edit, remove, download, or delete the playlist.

Now that you know where to find your listening history on Spotify, it is time to restrict access to your listening activity on Spotify; keep reading.

How to Delete My Spotify Listening History 

There is no official way to remove your Spotify history from your desktop or mobile phone. The music streaming service depends on your listening history to recommend new tracks and music that might interest you. 

Spotify Premium Subscription

To tweak your Spotify track recommendation without deleting your account, you can either select a track and exclude it from your taste profile or start listening to tracks and give Spotify time to understand and recommend based on your tastes. Meanwhile, you can play the tracks privately. How? Check out the method below.

On Mobile

By default, Spotify does not display your listening history to others. If you connect your Spotify account to Facebook, Spotify shares the songs you listen to. To completely hide your activity, follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Launch Spotify on your Android or iOS device and tap the Settings (gear) button at the top right corner.

Step 2: In the Settings screen, scroll down, and under the Social section, toggle off ‘Listening activity.’

Note: Additionally, you can also toggle on Private session. Once enabled, the Private session automatically ends after 6 hours. 

toggle off ‘Listening activity’

There you go. You have disabled sharing your listening activity with your followers on Spotify. It is important to note that it will not restrict Spotify from using your data. That said, if you are on a Desktop, keep reading.

On Desktop

Before we begin with the steps, it is important to note that if you use Spotify’s web player, there’s no option to listen to the tracks privately. Follow the below steps.

Step 1: Open Spotify on your Windows or Mac computer and click on your profile picture at the top right corner. 

click on your profile picture

Step 2: From the drop-down menu, select Settings.

select Settings

Step 3: In the Settings screen, under the Social section, toggle off ‘Share my listening activity on Spotify.’

Note: Additionally, you can also enable ‘Start a private session.’ Once enabled, the Private session automatically ends after 6 hours. 

toggle off ‘Share my listening activity on Spotify’

That’s it. You have successfully disabled the listening history on Spotify. Check out the FAQ section below if you have any queries we missed addressing.

FAQs on Viewing and Clearing Your Spotify Listening History

1. Is my search history visible to others on Spotify?

No, your search history on Spotify is not visible to others. It is private and only accessible to you. Spotify maintains the confidentiality of your search history and does not share it with other users or third parties. Spotify uses your search history internally to enhance your music recommendations and personalize your listening experience.

2. Can you see how many times you played a song on Spotify?

Yes, you can see how many times you have played a song on Spotify. However, it is limited to artists and their teams who have access to Spotify for Artists or Spotify for Labels & Distributors. As a regular user, you may not have direct access to the play count information for the songs you listen to.

View and Clear Your Listenings

Taking control of your Spotify listening history can greatly enhance your music experience. By learning how to view and clear your Spotify listening history, you can rediscover your favorite songs, fine-tune your recommendations, and ensure your music library accurately reflects your current tastes. You may also want to read 6 Spotify privacy settings for private sessions and playlists.

Last updated on 30 November, 2023

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