How to Stop Spotify From Adding Songs to Your Playlist?

Spotify is one of, if not the best, digital music streaming platforms worldwide, as it offers almost 100 million songs and boasts over 450 million monthly active users.

However, many of them are complaining that the platform is playing music they haven’t chosen. So if you are wondering how to stop Spotify from adding songs to your playlist, we got several solutions that may help you solve the problem.

We cover them in detail below!

How to Stop Spotify From Adding Songs

Are you relaxing at home with your favorite music playlist, and you suddenly notice Spotify is playing random songs that you’ve never heard before? As you’ll see, that happens for several reasons, which we explain and find answers to in the following paragraphs.

1. Turn off the ‘Autoplay’ Feature

The first thing to try is disabling the platform’s ‘Autoplay’ option, which is designed to play you something similar when your current selection ends:

1. Open your Spotify app;
2. Click on your profile name and tap on ‘Settings’;
3. Scroll down to the ‘Autoplay’ feature and toggle it off.

source: Spotify desktop app

2. Add More Songs to Your Playlist

If you are using the free version of Spotify, the platform requires you to have at least 15 songs in your playlists. If you don’t, Spotify will automatically add similar songs to fill the quota. Thankfully, it’s easy to find and add more songs:

1. Click on ‘Search’ at the top-left corner;
2. Type in the song you want to add and click on it;
3. Tap the three dots next to the song and select ‘Add to Playlist’;
4. Choose the playlist you want to add it to.

source: Spotify desktop app

Note: You can also drag and drop your favorite songs into your playlists, which are typically listed on the left-hand side of the app.

3. Disable the ‘Enhance’ Option

This exclusive, paid option recommends music that matches your vibe, and you get the chance to either permanently add or quickly remove said songs from your playlists. To deactivate it, simply complete these simple steps:

1. Open any of your playlists;
2. Tap on the ‘Enhance’ button underneath the playlist’s name;
3. Wait for the feature to add new songs to your playlist;
4. a) You will get a message telling you how many songs were added.
5. Press the ‘+’ or ‘-’ sign next to each new song to decide what to keep.

4. Stop Using Spotify’s Playlists

While on the app’s home screen, you’ll see a ton of playlist recommendations that match your music taste, but you can never be sure which songs are on them.

Some people (including us) can’t get enough of this option since they enjoy discovering new music similar to what they listen to on a daily basis.

Therefore, while an excellent option when you have no idea what to play next or when you are feeling adventurous, stay away from whatever the platform recommends you play, no matter how amazing it looks, and handpick your own playlist.

source: Spotify desktop app

5. Upgrade to Spotify Premium

Finally, the solution that always works is subscribing to Spotify Premium. In any case, all Spotify plans are rather cheap, come with ad-free music, and don’t fill your playlists with random songs. You can even create an offline playlist! How great is that?

If all that doesn’t convince you, note that you can play any song you like on your mobile phone, skip as much as you like, and listen with enhanced audio quality. Even if you change your mind down the line, canceling your subscription is relatively straightforward.

Bottom Line

If Spotify keeps playing random songs, don’t fret! Most likely, you can quickly solve the problem by applying one or more of the fixes above. While these solutions apply to the Spotify desktop and web experience, they are almost identical on mobile.

In most cases, however, you may have to pay for Spotify Premium. By doing so, you’ll listen to whatever you want and as much as you want on all your platforms.