Your Spotify Playlists Are Public by Default! Learn How to Guard Your Grooves

Did you know that many of your carefully curated Spotify playlists are visible to the world? It's a surprising truth for many users: by default, most playlists you create on Spotify are public. This means anyone — from friends and family to potential employers or even complete strangers — can potentially stumble upon your guilty pleasure tracks, your late-night study mixes, or that incredibly specific playlist you made for your pet.

While sharing your music tastes can be fun, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to keep some, or all, of your musical sanctuaries private.

Maybe you've got a playlist for crying sessions, or perhaps a collection of songs that are just a little too niche for public consumption. Whatever your reason, taking control of your Spotify privacy is simpler than you might think. Let's dive into how you can ensure your grooves stay exactly as private as you want them to be.

Making Your Existing Playlists Private: A Step-by-Step Guide

The good news is that making an individual playlist private is straightforward, whether you’re using the desktop app, web player, or mobile app.

On Desktop or Web Player:

1.

Open your Spotify application or log in to the web player.

2. In the left sidebar, navigate to the playlist you wish to make private.

3. Right-click on the playlist's name.

4. From the context menu that appears, select "Make private" (or "Make secret" on older versions). A small lock icon will appear next to the playlist name, indicating its new private status.

On Mobile (iOS or Android):

1.

Open the Spotify app on your smartphone or tablet.

2. Tap on "Your Library" at the bottom of the screen.

3. Select the playlist you want to hide.

4. Tap the three-dot menu icon (More Options) usually located under the playlist cover art.

5. From the options, scroll down and select "Make private." Again, a lock icon will confirm the change.

It's important to remember that this action only affects the specific playlist you've chosen.

All your other existing playlists will remain public unless you manually change their status.

What About New Playlists?

Currently, Spotify does not offer a global setting to make all new playlists private by default. Each new playlist you create will start as public. If you want a new playlist to be private, you'll need to follow the steps above immediately after creating it to switch its status.

It's a small extra step, but a crucial one for maintaining your privacy from the get-go.

Understanding "Private Session" vs. Private Playlists

This is where some confusion often arises. Spotify offers a "Private Session" feature, but it's crucial to understand what it does and doesn't do.

What Private Session DOES:

• Hides your listening activity from your "Friend Activity" feed.
• Prevents your current listening from influencing your "Recently Played" list for others.
• Stops your listening from appearing on your public profile.

What Private Session DOES NOT DO:

• It does NOT make your existing public playlists private.
• It does NOT prevent new playlists you create from being public.

Think of Private Session as a temporary incognito mode for your listening activity, not for the visibility of your playlists.

How to Start a Private Session:

On Desktop:

1.

Click your profile name in the top-right corner of the Spotify window.

2. Select "Private session" from the dropdown menu. A blue lock icon next to your profile picture will indicate it's active.

On Mobile:

1. Go to "Settings" (the gear icon).

2. Scroll down to "Social."

3.

Toggle "Private session" on. You'll see a notification confirming it's active.

Private sessions typically last until you restart Spotify or for a certain period of inactivity, after which you'll need to re-enable them if desired.

Hiding Your Overall Activity from Others

Beyond individual playlists and temporary private sessions, you can also control whether your general listening activity is shared with your followers and appears on your profile.

To Adjust Your Social Sharing Settings:

1.

Go to Spotify's "Settings" (gear icon).

2. Scroll down to the "Social" section.

3. Here you'll find options like "Share my listening activity on Spotify." Toggling this off will prevent your current listening from showing up in your friends' activity feeds.

Take Control of Your Digital Soundscape

Your Spotify account is a reflection of your evolving tastes and moods, and you should have complete control over who gets to peek into that personal space.

By understanding these simple privacy settings – making individual playlists private, being mindful of new playlist visibility, utilizing Private Sessions for listening discretion, and managing your overall social sharing – you can tailor your Spotify experience to perfectly match your desired level of privacy.

Guard your grooves, and enjoy your music exactly how you want it!