Spotify
What the default settings do
Listening Activity, the feature that lets people see what you are playing in real time, is off by default, but your recently played artists are shown on your public profile by default (for accounts 18 and older). Your profile, including your display name and any public playlists, is visible to all Spotify users.
Spotify uses your listening data, demographic information, and data from advertising partners to serve personalized ads on its free tier. If you connected your Facebook account, Spotify may display your listening activity there as well. Spotify also collects data about your listening habits, search queries, and device information for analytics and recommendation purposes.
A reasonable privacy baseline
These settings are found in Settings within the Spotify app or desktop client, and on your account page at account.spotify.com.
Listening activity
Listening Activity → Leave Off, or review who can see it if you turn it on (Settings → Privacy and social, on mobile)
This is off by default. If you turn it on, anyone following you can see what you are playing in real time through their Friend Activity feed, and it can prompt "Request to Jam" invitations. A June 2026 update also means that if it is on when you join a group chat, your real-time listening is shared into that group by default, so it is worth rechecking this setting if you use group messaging. The relaunched feature also moved the menu label from a plain "Social" section to "Privacy and social."
Private Session → Use as needed (Settings → Social or via the listening queue)
A private session temporarily hides your listening activity and prevents it from influencing your public listening history. It automatically expires after a period of inactivity. This is useful for one-off privacy rather than a permanent setting.
Recently Played → Show my recently played artists on my public profile → Off (Settings → Social)
Your recently played artists are displayed on your public profile by default. Turning this off removes that section from your profile.
Profile visibility
Profile Visibility → Review your profile at open.spotify.com/user/[your-id]
Your Spotify profile is public and shows your display name, profile photo, followers, following list, and public playlists. You cannot make your profile fully private, but you can remove your photo, use a non-identifying display name, and make playlists private individually.
Public Playlists → Review and set to Private where appropriate
Each playlist can be set to public or private. Review your playlists and change any to private that you do not want visible on your profile. Private playlists are still shareable via direct link.
Social connections
Facebook Connection → Disconnect if not needed (Settings → Social or account page)
If you signed up with or connected a Facebook account, Spotify may share your listening activity on Facebook. Disconnecting prevents this cross-platform sharing. If you originally signed up via Facebook, you may need to set a Spotify password first.
Social Sharing Defaults → Review (Settings → Social)
Spotify offers various sharing options to social media platforms. Review which platforms are connected and remove any you do not actively use for sharing.
Advertising and data
Tailored Ads → Off (Account page → Privacy settings at spotify.com/account/privacy)
This controls whether Spotify uses data from its advertising partners to personalize the ads you see. Turning it off means you still see ads on the free tier, but they will be less targeted. It is presented as an account-wide setting rather than one limited to free accounts, and Premium subscribers may still want to disable it for data collection reasons even though they do not see in-stream ads. It is off by default for accounts under 18.
Ad Preferences → Ad Topics → Suppress categories you prefer not to see (spotify.com/account/ad-preferences)
Separate from the Tailored Ads toggle, this page lets you opt out of ad categories such as alcohol, dating, gambling, or weight loss. It narrows what you are shown rather than reducing how much data Spotify collects.
Notification Preferences → Review (Account page → Notification settings)
Spotify sends email and push notifications about new releases, playlists, and promotional content. Review these preferences and disable categories that are not useful to you.
Download Your Data → Request periodically (Account page → Privacy settings → Download your data)
Spotify allows you to request a copy of all data associated with your account, including streaming history, search queries, playlists, and inferred preferences. This helps you understand the scope of collected data.
Trade-offs
- Leaving Listening Activity off means friends cannot see what you are playing in real time, which removes a social discovery element that some users enjoy.
- Making playlists private removes them from your public profile and from Spotify search results, reducing their discoverability if you intended to share them.
- Disconnecting Facebook may affect login if you originally registered through Facebook. Set a separate Spotify password before disconnecting.
- Disabling tailored ads on the free tier means you will still hear and see the same number of ads, but they may be less relevant.
- Private sessions are temporary and need to be re-enabled each time you want to listen privately.
Who should not change these settings
- If you use Spotify as a social platform and enjoy sharing what you listen to with friends, turning Listening Activity on is part of that experience.
- If you are a playlist curator who wants public visibility for your playlists, keeping them public is necessary for discoverability.
- If you prefer ads that are relevant to your interests rather than generic ones, leaving tailored ads on is a reasonable preference.
- If you use Facebook login as your primary sign-in method and do not want to manage a separate password, keeping the connection active is practical.