If you use Spotify, you’ve probably noticed it plays songs, even when you don’t ask for them. Spotify’s algorithms analyze your listening habits and offer recommendations based on your taste. This can be great for discovering new music, but not so much when Spotify insists on suggestions instead of the playlist or album you want to hear.
Fortunately, you can turn off or limit suggested songs on Spotify and stay in control of your listening experience. In this guide, we’ll cover different ways to stop Spotify from auto playing recommendations on both mobile and desktop.
Why Does Spotify Play Suggested Songs?
Before diving into how to disable songs, it helps to understand why Spotify pushes them in the first place.
Spotify has a vested interest in keeping you engaged on the platform for as long as possible. The more time you spend listening, the more opportunities Spotify has to serve your ads, and, collect data on your preferences for better recommendations.
Suggested songs are Spotify’s attempt to anticipate what you might want to hear next, queue it up, and keep you listening. The feature is on by default since many users appreciate personalized recommendations while listening. But if you find it disruptive, you have options to fine-tune or turn it off completely.
How to Stop Suggested Songs on Mobile
Spotify’s mobile apps for iOS and Android offer a few ways to limit or disable songs. Here are a few methods to try on your phone or tablet:
Turn Off Autoplay
The easiest way to stop suggestions on mobile is turning off Autoplay in your Spotify settings:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Tap the “Settings” icon in the top right (it looks like a gear)
- Scroll down and tap “Autoplay”
- Turn off “Autoplay” by tapping the slider so it’s gray
On Android devices:
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner of the Spotify app
- Tap the gear icon to open Settings
- Tap “Autoplay”
- Turn off the “Autoplay” toggle
With Autoplay disabled, Spotify will stop predicting what songs to play when you finish an album, playlist, or podcast episode of Joe Rogan.
Disable Suggested Songs on the Now Playing Screen
You can also stop suggestions specifically on the Now Playing screen while still allowing Autoplay for playlists:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Open the Now Playing screen
- Tap the “…” icon in the top right end of the Spotify
- Toggle off “Show Recommendations”
On Android:
- Open the Now Playing screen
- Tap the overflow menu (3 vertical dots)
- Tap “Suggested songs” to uncheck it
This settings change prevents song recommendations from queueing up on the Now Playing display only.
Use Private Session
Spotify’s Private Session option temporarily disables personalized suggestions and other social features:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Tap the “Home” tab
- Tap your profile picture
- Enable “Private Session”
On Android:
- Tap “Home”
- Tap your profile picture
- Toggle on “Private session”
While enabled, Spotify won’t use your account activity and preferences to recommend songs.
How to Stop Suggested Songs on Desktop
You can also fine-tune Spotify’s Autoplay and suggestion preferences in the desktop app settings:
Turn Off Autoplay
- Now you need to Click the down arrow next to your Spotify username
- Select “Settings”
- Click “Automix” on the left sidebar
- Uncheck the box next to “Automix” to disable autoplay
This will prevent songs from automatically queueing up when you finish an album, playlist, etc.
Disable Suggestions While Listening
You can specifically disable suggestions on the Now Playing screen:
- Now you need to Click the down arrow next to your Spotify username
- Select “Settings”
- Click “Automix” on the left sidebar
- Uncheck the box next to “Suggest songs while listening” on the spotify playlist
Use Private Session
Like on mobile, Spotify’s desktop app includes a Private Session option to temporarily pause personalized suggestions:
- Click the down arrow next to your profile picture
- Check the box next to “Private Session”
Other Ways to Avoid Suggested Songs
Aside from disabling Autoplay and suggestions in your account settings, there are a few more tricks to avoid having Spotify decide what you hear next:
- Listen to downloaded content: Spotify can’t play songs if you listen to offline playlists, albums, or podcast downloads when you lack internet. Downloading content prevents disruptions from recommendations.
- Pre-plan playlists: Take time to manually build playlists with the exact songs and order you want. Completely curated playlists with downloads enabled will play without any suggestions.
- Listen on other devices: Streaming Spotify from devices like Google Home smart speakers, PlayStation or Xbox consoles, and TVs have fewer options for suggestions. Use these for interruption-free listening.
- Clean up your taste profile: Don’t listen to random one-off songs and podcasts that might skew your preferences. Delete old songs and listens from your library that pollute your interest profile. A focused taste profile will receive better-suited suggestions if you permit them.
- Create radio stations: Spotify Radio lets you start stations based on specific artists, songs, or genres you pick. The generated song recommendations stick closer to your original selection compared to Spotify’s general suggestions.
The Balance Between Suggestions and Control
Spotify certainly seems eager to offer songs, but they aim to enhance Without Spotify listening experience when used appropriately. Suggestions are Spotify’s attempt to deliver a personalized, radio-like flow based on your preferences.
But if you find the recommendations miss the mark or disrupt your intended listening, now you know how to disable or limit them across devices. The options provide a good balance between keeping suggestions useful and handing control back to the listener when needed.
The key is tailoring Spotify’s Autoplay and suggestion preferences to match your listening style. Don’t hesitate to turn them off if Spotify gets a little too presumptuous about what you want to hear!
Conclusion
Suggested songs can be a blessing and a curse on Spotify. When they hit the mark, recommendations can expand your musical horizons and offer a personalized listening experience. However excessive, inaccurate suggestions can frustrate users who just want to hear a chosen playlist or album uninterrupted.
Fortunately, Spotify provides control over when and how recommendations appear in the mobile and desktop apps. You can limit suggestions to certain screens, temporarily disable them in Private Session, or turn off Autoplay entirely. Downloading content, cleaning up your profile, and using radio stations provide other ways to avoid suggestions when you want more say over what plays next.
Don’t hesitate to tinker with Spotify’s Autoplay settings until you find your ideal balance between discovery and uninterrupted listening. And never forget your power as the listener to overwrite suggestions with the songs you want to play!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I permanently turn off Spotify’s suggested songs?
The only way to permanently disable songs is to turn off Autoplay in your account settings. This prevents Spotify from automatically queueing up recommendations when you finish playlists, albums, etc.
Do I have to turn off suggested songs on mobile and desktop separately?
Yes. Your Autoplay settings are separate for the mobile and desktop Spotify apps. Make sure to turn off suggestions in both places if you want them completely disabled.
What’s the easiest way to temporarily stop suggestions when listening?
On mobile, use Private Session. On the desktop, you can uncheck the “Suggest songs while listening” box. These provide quick shortcuts to pause suggestions until you disable Private/re-enable the setting.
Will turning off suggested songs also prevent daily playlists?
No. Suggested songs are different from personalized playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar. Disable Autoplay only stops real-time suggestions, not existing playlists.
Can I get suggestions back if I change my mind later?
Absolutely. You can re-enable Autoplay at any time in your Spotify account settings on mobile and desktop. Suggestions will resume once you flip the switch back on.