By activating Spotify’s private session, you can hide your listening activity from your followers. We’ll show you how to turn this feature on in Spotify on desktop and mobile.
What is a private session on Spotify?
By default, Spotify displays your listening activity to your followers. You can use private sessions if you want to keep your activity private.
When you are in a private session, Spotify does not record your listening activity. Everything you hear in this session is private. In addition, Spotify does not use any data from private sessions in your new algorithm to suggest new music to you.
Related: How to discover new music on Spotify.
As of this writing in September 2021, the web version of Spotify does not support private sessions.
Start a private session on Spotify on mobile.
To enable private sessions on your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone, first launch the Spotify app on your phone.
At the bottom of the Spotify app, tap “Home”.
On the “Home” screen, from the top right corner, select the “Settings” option (gear icon).
In “Settings”, scroll down to the “Social” section. Here, toggle on the “Private Session” option.
And that’s it. You are now in a private session. Whatever music tracks you listen to here, your followers won’t see them in friend activity.
To turn off the private session, access the “Settings” menu and toggle the “Private session” option.
Start a private session in Spotify on the desktop.
To enter a private session in Spotify on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, first launch the Spotify app on your computer.
In the Spotify app, at the top, click on your name.
From the menu that opens after clicking on your name, select “Private Session”.
With your name at the top of the Spotify app, you’ll now see a padlock icon. This confirms that you have successfully entered a private session.
When you want to opt out of a private session, click on your name at the top of the Spotify app and select “Private Session” from the menu.
And that’s how you make the taste of your music a mystery!
You’ll also want to clear your recently played list on Spotify to leave no trace of your music activity. That’s the decent thing to do, and it should end there.
Related: How to clear your recently run list on Spotify.