No longer into Early Noughties Shoegazer and LowFi Punk? Tired of scrolling through a hundred redundant playlists just to get to the ones you actually listen to? Embarrassed by a slew of playlists you made when you were 15? Or just in need of a general Spotify clean-up? Whatever your reasoning, here are the tutorials you’ll need to delete a Spotify playlist, either on the Desktop or Mobile app.
Just remember, the playlist you want to delete has to be one of your own creations, otherwise, you’ll have to settle for removing it from your profile. For more information, see the FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to delete a Spotify playlist on the desktop app
- Open up the Spotify app, and if prompted, sign-in
- From the left-hand sidebar, locate the playlist(s) you wish to delete
- Now, right-click on the playlist(s) and from the drop-down menu, select ‘Delete’
- You will be prompted to confirm your deletion. Once you are sure, click ‘Delete’
- You have successfully deleted your Spotify playlist(s), and removed it/them from your profile, and from the profile of anyone who followed it/them
How to delete a Spotify playlist on the mobile app
- Open up the Spotify app, and if prompted, sign-in
- Tap the ‘Your Library’ icon in the bottom-right of the screen
- You should automatically be directed to your list of followed or created playlists, if not, tap ‘Playlists’
- Scroll until you locate the playlist(s) you wish to delete
- Tap and hold the playlist(s)
- From the pop-up menu, select ‘Delete Playlist’
- You will be prompted to confirm your deletion. Once you are sure, tap ‘Delete’
- You have successfully deleted your Spotify playlist(s), and removed it/them from your profile, and from the profile of anyone who followed it/them
Note: If the playlist you wish to delete is not your own, then you cannot delete it. You can however remove it from your profile, by following the above steps and selecting ‘Remove from Your Library’ (on the PC) or ‘Stop Following’ (on mobile), instead of ‘Delete’ or ‘Delete Playlist’
And there you have it! In just a few simple clicks and taps you can delete your unwanted user-made playlists, and freshen up your Spotify profile. For more information, see the FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
What is Spotify?
Spotify is the world’s most popular and recognisable music streaming platform, having overtaken Apple’s iTunes, and lower-key streaming services such as Bandcamp. Though shrouded in the controversy regarding how much (or rather, how little) it pays artists per stream/download, Spotify remains undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly apps, with a sleek interface, and functionality greatly-loved by its many millions of users worldwide. Spotify allows its users to organise their favourite songs and artists together into personalised playlists, for which they can edit just about every aspect, including picture, name, description, and who can collaborate on the playlist (if anyone). Furthermore, Spotify allows users and musicians from all around the world to share their creations with each other.
Why would I want to delete a Spotify playlist?
There are many reasons why you might want to delete a playlist on Spotify. Perhaps you’ve not listened to a playlist in years, and at this point you’re either embarrassed by it, or straight-up fed-up by it clogging up your newly tidied list of playlists. Maybe you’ve combined two or more playlists into a super-playlist, and wish to delete the originals, or you simply want a clean slate.
Can I delete any playlist?
You can only delete playlists which you yourself have created, and you can only do so whilst logged into the Spotify account in question (i.e. the account which created said playlist). You cannot delete playlists which you collaborate on with a friend, even if you are the main contributor, unless it was you who created the playlist in the first instance. You can, however, remove Spotify-created or user-created playlists which you’ve followed from appearing on your profile, by following the steps listed above, but selecting ‘Remove playlist’ instead of ‘Delete playlist’
Can I recover an accidentally deleted playlist?
Unfortunately, you cannot, no. Once a Spotify playlist is deleted, it is lost forever. Think carefully about the decision then, before making it, and maybe even consider making a note of the songs in the playlist, or exporting the list outside of Spotify, just in case you change your mind on that nostalgic 90s summer vibes skater punk playlist you made when you were 15, y’know?
What happens when I delete a Spotify playlist?
When you delete a Spotify playlist which you’ve created, it will be deleted permanently. This means that anyone who was following your playlist will no longer be able to access it. It will be removed from their ‘Followed Playlists’ list, as well as from your profile. If your playlist is a collaborative effort, and one or more other people are able to contribute to it, when you delete this, they will also lose access to it. Make sure then that you are certain you are happy not only to remove this playlist from your own profile, but from there’s too.
