How To Turn Off Suggested Songs On Spotify

Whether you’re unconvinced that Spotify is up to the job of recommending you and automatically playing you similar music, or you want greater autonomy over your listening experience, turning off ‘suggested songs’ (AKA ‘Autoplay’) is super easy. 

To learn how to do so, simply follow our tutorials for mobile and desktop Spotify below. For all additional information and queries, please direct your attention to our FAQ section at the end of this article.

How to turn off ‘Autoplay’ on Spotify (Mobile/Tablet App)

1. On your smartphone or tablet device, launch the Spotify app and sign in if prompted
   
2. From the Homepage (tap ‘Home’ in the bottom-left of the screen), tap the ‘Settings’ cog/gear-shaped icon in the top-right
   
3. Scroll down to the ‘Playback’ settings, and then toward the bottom of this section locate the ‘Autoplay’ function; you should notice that it is currently toggled to ON (the slider should be green)
   
   1. Note: If Autoplay’s slider is grey, then it is already toggled OFF
4. Tap the Autoplay slider to turn it from green to grey, ON to OFF
   
5. Simply return to whatever music it is you’re listening to and the change in settings will be applied. ‘Suggested songs’ have now been turned off.

How to turn off ‘Autoplay’ on Spotify (Desktop App)

1. On your desktop or laptop device, launch the Spotify app and sign in if prompted
   
2. From any part of the app, click your Profile name/icon in the top-right
   
3. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Settings’
   
4. Locate the ‘Autoplay’ function (it should be very close to the top of the ‘Settings’ page), you should notice that it is currently toggled to ON (the slider should be green)
   
   1. Note: If Autoplay’s slider is grey, then it is already toggled OFF
5. Click the Autoplay slider to turn it from green to grey, ON to OFF
   
6. Simply return to whatever music it is you’re listening to and the change in settings will be applied. ‘Suggested songs’ have now been turned off.

And there you go. Simple as that! If you wish to turn Autoplay back on at any time, simply repeat the steps above but toggle the slider back ‘ON’ (green). If you have any additional queries or would like more info on the subject, check out our FAQs below.

FAQs

What are ‘suggested songs’ on Spotify?

Spotify is one of the world’s most popular music and podcast streaming services, used by millions of users every single day. Offering both a free and premium service, one of the most innovative aspects of the app is that it uses an algorithm to determine which music is similar to the music you’ve been enjoying, and then suggests this music to you. 

Sometimes this suggested music comes in the form of a tailored playlist, sometimes in a Song Radio (taking one song as the root and building a playlist of similar songs from it). However, there is another feature of Spotify which does a similar job, but can be quite frustrating at times.

This feature is called ‘Autoplay’, which we’re referring to here as ‘suggested songs’. Essentially, once the music you’ve chosen to listen to (be it a playlist, album, or single track) finishes, Autoplay then starts automatically playing you music that is deemed ‘similar’ to that which has just finished.

Why would I want to turn off ‘suggested songs’ on Spotify?

Whilst the innovative Autoplay feature is beloved by some, introducing them to new music which is already almost guaranteed to be to their liking, for other users, it’s nothing more than a nuisance. 

For example, let’s say you’re listening to your favorite album by Nirvana, and only wanted to listen to that. Yet, with Autoplay enabled, as soon as In Utero finishes Spotify immediately starts playing you something by Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Hole. Whilst these bands are all great, maybe you didn’t want to launch straight into something else, maybe you wanted to let In Utero ruminate with you for a while.

Alternatively, you may just find that Autoplay isn’t up to the task, and always selects music you either don’t like or don’t feel is appropriate at the moment. Whatever your reasons for wanting to turn Autoplay (or ‘suggested songs’) off, it’s super easy to do so. Just follow our tutorials above.

Can I turn ‘suggested songs’ on Spotify back on if I change my mind?

Yes, absolutely, it’s easy to turn Autoplay on and off with a few taps, and so you can easily experiment to see which option works best for you. To do so, simply follow our tutorials as above, but when you get to the step instructing you to toggle Autoplay OFF, simply toggle it back ON, instead.

Is Autoplay a feature across all Spotify accounts?

Yes. Whether you have a free account, a single Premium, or even a family Premium account, Autoplay is activated as a default across all accounts. 

Does toggling ‘suggested songs’ OFF on one device do so for all devices using that same Spotify account

Spotify is notoriously poor at synchronizing settings and functionality across the various devices you can and may use to listen through. Even if your Spotify account is logged in on both your phone and computer, simply changing a setting on your computer’s Spotify app does not guarantee that it will also change on your phone. 

Unfortunately, this rule applies to the Autoplay (‘suggested songs’) feature. If you want to disable it, for example, you’ll have to do so manually on all of your devices. Changing it on one will only affect your listening experience on that particular device.