Tag: tips and tricks

5 Spotify Hacks Every Free User Needs To Know

February 3, 2025

Whether you’re discovering your new favorite song or queuing up the latest episode of the hottest podcasts, Spotify is always innovating to deliver the best experience possible. And our Free users around the world have unprecedented access to the very best of what the platform has to offer: personalized music recommendations, a mobile-friendly data saver mode, the freedom to stream their favorite music and podcasts available on over 2,000 devices, and the ability to share the music they love via social media.

To make the most of the Free music-listening experience on Spotify, we’ve compiled this list of hacks that every Free user needs to know (and some pro tips to help you stay on top of your streaming game).

Follow along with your next listening session

When you find yourself listening to a song and want to follow along—or you just want to figure out what someone is saying—our shareable Lyrics feature is here to help.

With Lyrics, you can cultivate an even deeper connection to the music and artists you love, diving into the meaning behind each song. When listening to a song with available lyrics, users can swipe up from the bottom of the Now Playing screen in the Spotify mobile app to display the track’s lyrics, which will scroll line by line in real time as the song is playing.

Pro tip: With social sharing functionality built right into Lyrics, you can express how you’re feeling and share it with your friends via Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and more.

Discover music that perfectly fits your mood

If you’re looking for the right songs to get you hyped up for a morning workout or focused for your nightly study sessions, daylist has you covered.

A one-of-a-kind playlist that understands and reflects what types of music you like to listen to during particular moments in the day, or on specific days of the week, daylist is available to Free users around the world, regularly updating with different songs and titles, made for every version of you.

Pro tip: When there’s a specific daylist playlist you love, you can make a copy of it and save it by tapping the three-dot menu, scrolling down to “Add to playlist,” then tapping “New playlist.” Then, it will be available to revisit whenever you like.

Give your playlist covers a unique touch

You’ve mastered the art of curating incredible playlists, but if you want them to truly feel “made by you,” you can design your own playlist cover right on Spotify. Available in 65 Spotify markets around the world, this feature lets you personalize your playlist covers with unique images, colors, and text effects, graphic elements that match the distinct vibe of your playlists.

Whether you’re on iOS or Android, just head to the Spotify mobile app (make sure it’s up-to-date) and select a playlist that you personally created (or create a new one) to get started. Then tap the three-dot menu and choose “Create cover art.”

Pro tip: You can only save one custom cover art per playlist at a time, and each new cover you create will override the previous one for that specific playlist.

Revisit your favorite blasts from the past

Whether you’re looking to take a trip down memory lane with one of your all-time favorite songs or you want to rediscover a hit you haven’t thought about in years, you can jump into one of several personalized playlists that will take you back.

Just head to the Made for You hub and let Repeat Rewind bring you back to some of your more recent past favorites, or press play on one of the Your Decades Mixes and let the nostalgia from a particular era wash over you.

Pro tip: If you want to explore more of the biggest hits that you’ve loved over the years, our editorial team has curated playlists to take you further down memory lane, including Throwback Thursday, after school club 🪄, Throwback Jams, y2k, and our Decades hub, full of era-specific playlists rounding up all of the biggest anthems from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Jump outside of your musical comfort zone

Looking for your next favorite song but don’t know where to start? You can expand your own horizons through playlists like Discover Weekly, which offers a weekly dose of personalized recommendations based on your listening history, or you can stay ahead of the curve with Release Radar, which delivers the latest releases from the artists you follow.

Pro tip: Keep up with your favorite artists by navigating to their profile pages and tapping the follow button at the top.

Want to take your listening to the next level? Check out our 5 premium hacks every Spotify user needs to know.

4 Tips To Supercharge Your Discovery on Spotify in 2025

January 22, 2025

Personalized listening is key to unlocking your perfect soundtrack for 2025. It’s about more than just hearing your favorites, and at Spotify, we want to help you discover new artists and tracks we think you’ll love based on how you listen.

Every day we connect millions of listeners with their favorite artists, powering nearly 2 billion music discoveries every 24 hours. And we’re constantly innovating to make this experience even easier and more enjoyable.

Discovering new music can come in many forms depending on your familiarity with different artists and genres, or even how you use Spotify playlists and features. From algorithmically personalized to expertly curated by our editors—and even synergistic blends that unite the best of both—we have playlists for every mood, moment, or discovery need.

We’ve curated some essential Spotify tips to help you find your next favorite track or artist.

Find your daily dose of discovery.

If you’re looking to seamlessly blend your favorite tracks with new and exciting sounds, head to the Made for You hub and try out some personalized playlists like daylist or Mixes. daylist, which is available globally to both Free and Premium users, will perfectly soundtrack your day, updating frequently and evolving with your listening habits to offer more opportunities to discover new artists.

Get your weekly fix.

Ready to step outside your comfort zone? Try Discover Weekly. Every Monday, discover 30 new tracks tailored to your taste. This personalized playlist is filled with new music we think you’ll love—blending songs you might have missed over the years with recent releases. It’s an easy way to find artists and genres that are similar to what you’ve been listening to lately.

Stay ahead of the curve.

Spotify offers a variety of curated playlists from our team of global editorial experts—like New Music Friday or Fresh Finds—each providing a great way to discover emerging artists and different genres. These playlists help you stay in tune with the latest trends and find what’s next in music. And once you discover a new artist, check out Release Radar, a personalized playlist that keeps you updated on your favorite artists’ new releases.

Supercharge your recommendations.

Want even more personalized discovery? Engaging with Spotify helps fine-tune your recommendations. Liking songs, following artists, and saving tracks to your playlists all provide signals that help us understand your taste, leading to even better discoveries and more relevant recommendations. Explore genre hubs, artist pages, and our expert-curated playlists to further expand and refine your musical journey.

This year, make musical exploration a priority. Who knows? Your next favorite artist might be just a tap away.

How to Get the Most Out of Search on Spotify

May 27, 2021

There’s a lot of great music and podcasts on Spotify. Like a lot. We are talking about over 70 million tracks and more than 2.6 million podcast titles. Having that many songs and episodes at your fingertips is great. Knowing how to find it? Even better.

Using the search functionality on Spotify can help you find exactly what you’re looking for quickly and efficiently. So to help you become the master of search, we’ve rounded up a few tips and tricks to employ.

Filters on mobile: Categorizing with ease

Just last week, Spotify began rolling out Filters while using search on mobile devices. These filters are designed to help you find information faster and more easily, and allow you to categorize your results by artists, songs, playlists, albums, and more. By clicking on the appropriate tab, you can discover the exact type of music or podcast you’re looking for. For example, if you type in “The Office,” you can filter your results by “Podcast & shows,” where you’ll find content like An Oral History of The Office.

Lyrics search: No need to name that tune

Ready to hear that song you can’t stop singing, but can’t remember the actual name of the song? With Lyrics search, we have you covered. Gone are the days where you need to type the words into a web search engine. Maybe “I’ve been hiding for so long” is stuck in your head. Just start typing the lyrics into the search bar and Spotify will populate the songs that contain the same phrase, which, in this case, is girl in red’s “girls.”

Using “Hey Spotify” for voice search: Footloose and hands-free

For users in the U.S., take a try at going hands-free by using your voice to search. First, to enable a hands-free voice experience, just tap on the microphone or say “Hey Spotify” when you’re in the Spotify app. Using voice search will allow you to get to your content faster. Next time you’re in the car or busy in the kitchen, give the functionality a go by saying “Hey Spotify, play Discover Weekly” or “Hey Spotify, play ’90s R&B.” You can even play content specific to your account, like “Hey Spotify, play my Liked Songs.”

Now that you’re well versed on the search functionality, it’s time to put that knowledge to use and crank up the tunes or find your next podcast binge.

4 Tips to Make the Most of Your 2021 Wrapped

January 12, 2021

Every December, Spotify unveils your yearly Wrapped, a personalized in-app experience that celebrates the music and podcasts you’ve streamed the most that year. It’s something our listeners look forward to all year long. The results are always a surprise—and more so in some ways than others. Last month, when you opened your 2020 Wrapped, did you notice that your kids’ obsession with Elsa took over your Wrapped cards? Or maybe those many hours of listening to soothing audio while you slept skewed your Wrapped results.

If that was the case, check out the four tips below to better ensure your 2021 Wrapped is a true representation of you. After all, it’s less than 11 months away.

1. Remove the audio you fall asleep to with private listening mode

If you’re streaming a lot of music or sounds to help you sleep, it may not be the most accurate representation of your listening habits. So go “incognito” with Spotify’s Private Listening mode. Private Sessions allow you to enjoy whatever it is you’re listening to discreetly—meaning it won’t show up in your Friend Activity. It also won’t influence your personalized music recommendations, like Discover Weekly or Release Radar, or be counted toward your Wrapped roundup.

Simply turn on private listening mode on your mobile device by tapping “Home,” and then heading to “Settings.” From there, under “Social,” switch on “Private Session.” To end the Private Session, simply repeat the steps.

2. Give your children their own musical experience—and preserve your own—with Spotify Kids

If your top song slots in Wrapped went to the latest Disney ballads and nursery rhymes, know that you’re not alone. Parents give up a lot for their kids, and a Wrapped experience exclusive to their listening habits is no exception. Luckily, thanks to the Spotify Kids app, which is exclusive to Spotify Premium Family plan subscribers, children can now enjoy listening to their favorite tunes via a playground of sound that’s separate from their parents’ listening experience. The app is designed specifically for kids, and the content is handpicked by a team of editors. All you need to do is subscribe to the Premium Family plan and then Download the Spotify Kids app to give your kids a music experience of their very own (and reclaim your streaming stats). If your family is looking for songs to get groovin’ to, check out this roundup of the top songs played on Spotify Kids in 2020.

3. Discover more artists, podcasts, and genres with audio for everyone and everything

There’s a world of audio content on Spotify within your reach. So if you’re looking for something new, try the search bar on for size. You can browse playlists—whether Spotify created or user generated—for any activity or mood. These custom creations might speak to you in the moment, as well as help you expand your musical repertoire. In next year’s Wrapped, you might not only see a shift in your top artists, but also in your genres, like exchanging “indie rock” and “pop” for the uniquely specific genres like “permanent wave” and “escape room.” Or, if you’re looking to explore a different type of audio, tap “Podcasts” to browse shows by genre (like true crime or sports), by podcast playlists, or even by podcast charts.

4. Access Wrapped year-round

Wrapped happens once a year—but it doesn’t disappear come January. Access your 2020 Wrapped year-round by heading to the “Search” section of the app and scrolling through “Browse all.” From there, you’ll be able to replay your 2020 Wrapped experience, as well as stream your personalized playlists, such as Your Top Songs 2020, Missed Hits, and On Record. Plus, keep scrolling to find the rest of the top tracks, artists, and podcasts of the year.

For more Wrapped behind the scenes, check out our Spotify: Discover This podcast.

3 Tips & Tricks to Enhance Your 2020 Wrapped Experience

December 9, 2020

Last week, we unveiled the artists, songs, and albums the world streamed the most in 2020, as well as personalized 2020 Wrapped results for our eligible Free and Premium users. By now, if you’ve indeed “unwrapped” your Wrapped, you probably learned which song you streamed the most, how many artists you discovered, and the number of hours you binged one particular podcast—but that’s not where the fun stops.

Here are a few tips on three new features we’ve unveiled to help you get even more out of your 2020 Wrapped experience.

1. Check out the new Wrapped voice commands

Did you know you can play Spotify using your voice? Tap Search on your mobile app and you’ll find a small microphone button to the right of the bar. Hit the icon (you may have to grant the Spotify app permission to access your phone microphone if this is your first time using the feature) and simply ask Spotify to play any artist, song, or playlist.

Now, Free and Premium users in the U.S. will also be able to use that same microphone icon to ask Spotify about their Wrapped. Hear one of a dozen unique and personalized facts about your 2020 music and podcast listening habits by saying something like:

“Tell me a Wrapped fact”
“Tell me about my listening habits”
“Tell me about my listening history”
“Tell me a 2020 listening fact”

Or you can ask it to play music featured in your Wrapped:

“Play my top songs from 2020”
“Play my top songs from this year”
“Play my 2020 top songs”
“Play my top songs playlist”
“Play my top songs”
“Play my Wrapped 2020”
“Play your top songs 2020”
“Play your top songs from this year”

2. Get fancy with our social media integrations

Users and artists love to share their Wrapped on social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat—and 2020 Wrapped sharing is already in full force. This year, users can even use two new interactive Instagram Story lenses, Kaleidoscope and Data Story Quiz, to share their reactions and test their 2020 listening knowledge. Here’s how:

Navigate to Spotify’s official global Instagram profile (@Spotify).
Tap the “Effects” icon (after “Grid” and “IG TV”) to reveal all of Spotify’s custom filters.
Select the “Kaleidoscope” or “Data Story Quiz” lenses and tap “Try It” to check them out!

This year, we’re also adding one more social media channel to the mix: TikTok. This custom Wrapped integration for U.S. and UK TikTok users, available through Thursday, December 11, combines the best of 2020 Wrapped with custom TikTok videos. Here’s how:

Open up the TikTok app and tap the Plus button to create a video.
On the video recording screen, tap Effects to search for the branded 2020 Wrapped effect.
Tap the 2020 Wrapped effect icon and you’ll see a flash of color take over the screen. After the flash, the prompt “My #2020Wrapped Top _____ is” will appear.
Share your completed stat with a TikTok video creation!

3. Customize your Share Cards

This year, for the first time, users can also customize their share cards before posting them to their social media feeds. On the final screen, you’ll be able to choose from one of four distinct color choices to personalize your Wrapped more than ever before.

Check out all of these features and more by heading to Spotify.com/Wrapped.

How We’re Answering Users’ Questions With New ‘Tips and Tricks’ Initiative

May 28, 2020

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How do I customize my Spotify profile?” or wondered if you can create a playlist of both music and podcasts, you’re not alone. The Spotify app (and the Spotify Kids app, for that matter) has capabilities many users may not expect or realize—but no longer. As part of a new social-driven program on @SpotifyCares, we’re unveiling Spotify Tips & Tricks, an ongoing product education resource that will highlight the amazing features and content you may not be familiar with that Spotify has to offer.

The initiative will surface bite-sized—you guessed it—tips, tricks, and how-to information on everything from redeeming gift cards to changing your display name to making a playlist. It will cover features available for users across all of our Free or Premium offerings.

Our hope is to engage with you, our users, to proactively identify your pain points and solve problems, help you find and enjoy our premium product experiences and offerings, and ultimately make sure you’re getting the most of your audio experience—all while continuing to be the brand you know and love.

Can’t wait for the insider info? Follow @SpotifyCares, our channel for customer service, on Twitter, where we’ll be launching the new content series. Find the answers to topics such as how to listen while offline, find different methods for Premium account payment, and connect with integrated devices like smart speakers and watches.

As the name Spotify Cares suggests, we care about our users and helping you make the most of the app. Plus, after you follow @SpotifyCares on Twitter, stay on the lookout for the Tips & Tricks initiative on the Customer Support YouTube channel and FAQ site.