Spotify might be one of the easiest ways to listen to music, but are you getting the best experience from your subscription?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people open Spotify, choose a playlist and press play. However, buried inside the app’s settings are several features that can dramatically change how you listen to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From improving audio quality and making shuffle less repetitive to stopping children’s songs from taking over your recommendations, a few simple adjustments can make Spotify feel much more personalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are eight Spotify settings worth checking in 2026, along with instructions on how to change them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of Spotify’s biggest improvements in recent years has been the introduction of lossless audio for Premium subscribers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify now supports lossless music streaming at up to 24-bit\/44.1kHz using the FLAC audio format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike traditional compressed audio, lossless files preserve more of the original recording’s audio information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can be especially beneficial if you listen through high-quality headphones, speakers or a dedicated audio system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep in mind that lossless audio consumes considerably more data and storage space than standard streaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s also an important catch: most Bluetooth headphones compress audio during wireless transmission, meaning you won’t necessarily hear a true lossless signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the best results, consider wired headphones or compatible Spotify Connect equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you mainly use wireless earbuds while commuting, Spotify’s Very High setting may already provide everything you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you ever noticed that some songs sound noticeably louder than others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify uses a feature called volume normalisation to make listening levels more consistent between tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is particularly useful when switching between older recordings, modern pop songs and different musical genres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, volume normalisation isn’t necessarily the best option for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify offers three volume levels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Loud setting can reduce dynamic range through limiting, which may affect how certain songs sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Importantly, normalisation itself doesn’t automatically mean you’re losing audio quality. Spotify can simply adjust playback gain without modifying the underlying recording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Open Settings and privacy, select Playback on mobile and find Volume normalisation. On desktop, look under Audio Quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you prefer consistent levels between songs, keep normalisation enabled and use Normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to hear the natural differences in loudness between recordings, experiment with switching it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does Spotify keep playing the same songs, even when you’ve got hundreds saved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’re not imagining the frustration, although shuffle behaviour can be more complicated than it appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify Premium now offers two different shuffle styles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This plays tracks randomly, giving every song an equal opportunity to appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, genuinely random selection can produce unexpected patterns, including songs or artists appearing close together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This setting considers your recent listening history when selecting tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify uses a freshness-based system to reduce repetition and give less-played songs more opportunities to appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn’t completely eliminate repeats, but it can make larger playlists feel more varied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On supported Premium versions of Spotify, open Settings and privacy, go to Playback and look for the shuffle style setting under listening controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choose Fewer repeats if you’re tired of hearing the same tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For listeners who want a more purely random experience, Standard is the better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify’s Smart Shuffle feature introduces recommended songs into your playlists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea is to help you discover new music based on the tracks you already enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But not everyone wants Spotify adding suggestions to a carefully curated playlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’ve built a playlist for a particular mood, event or musical genre, unexpected recommendations can interrupt the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the Spotify Premium mobile app:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can then listen to your own playlist without Smart Shuffle inserting recommended tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For music discovery, Smart Shuffle can still be useful. But if you prefer controlling exactly what plays, disabling it makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you share your Spotify listening time with children, you’ll know how quickly their favourite songs can take over your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few weeks of playing nursery rhymes, children’s soundtracks or family singalongs can influence Spotify’s understanding of your musical tastes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That can affect personalised playlists, recommendations and even Spotify Wrapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thankfully, Spotify now offers a dedicated setting to prevent this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify will continue allowing you to play children’s music, but those listening sessions will no longer influence your recommendations and listening insights in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can take up to 48 hours to take effect, while certain personalised playlists may not change until their next scheduled refresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For parents who regularly use Spotify in the car or at home, this is one of the most useful settings available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Children’s songs aren’t the only tracks that can distort Spotify’s recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps you listen to ambient music while working, white noise while sleeping or relaxing instrumental playlists in the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although these listening habits serve a purpose, they might not reflect what you actually want Spotify to recommend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify allows you to exclude individual playlists and tracks from your taste profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify will reduce the influence of listening to that playlist on your personalised recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excluded listening also generally won’t contribute to Spotify Wrapped’s music rankings, although total listening time can still count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s one important limitation: if you play the same tracks outside an excluded playlist, those separate listens may still influence your taste profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is particularly useful for sleep playlists, background music and other listening habits that don’t represent your everyday musical preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone wants friends or followers knowing exactly what they’re listening to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify includes social features that can share your listening activity with other users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, you can control how much information is visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private sessions temporarily prevent your listening activity from being shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also stop music played during that session from affecting your personalised recommendations and Spotify Wrapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, private sessions aren’t permanent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify automatically ends them after six hours or when the app restarts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you would rather keep your listening habits private all the time, turn off Listening activity in your privacy settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on your app version, you may also be able to control which followers can see your activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can manage playlist visibility separately, allowing you to keep certain playlists private while sharing others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ever wished your Spotify playlists sounded more like a DJ set?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crossfade allows one song to gradually fade out while the next begins playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of hearing a gap between tracks, the two songs briefly overlap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This can make dance, workout and party playlists flow more naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try starting with a three- to five-second crossfade and adjust it depending on your preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For albums designed to be heard continuously, you may prefer leaving crossfade disabled to preserve their original transitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify Premium also offers Automix, which can create beat-matched transitions on selected playlists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These features aren’t available in every listening situation, including some Spotify Connect playback setups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s one more setting worth considering if you like listening to complete albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify’s Autoplay feature automatically starts playing similar tracks when your chosen album or playlist finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s great for discovering new music without having to select another playlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, sometimes you simply want an album to end when the artist intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To disable it, open Settings and privacy, navigate to Playback and turn off Autoplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your music will stop after your selected content finishes rather than continuing with Spotify’s recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For eligible Premium subscribers, setting streaming quality to Lossless offers the highest available audio fidelity. Spotify supports up to 24-bit\/44.1kHz FLAC, although your playback equipment and connection can affect the actual listening experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not necessarily. Volume normalisation helps maintain consistent listening levels between songs. Keeping it enabled on Normal is a good choice for everyday listening, while switching it off may appeal to listeners who prefer the original loudness differences between recordings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify’s Standard shuffle uses random selection, which can sometimes produce repeated patterns. Premium subscribers can choose Fewer repeats to reduce repetition based on recent listening history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Open Settings and privacy, select Content and display, and disable Include kids and family music in your taste profile. Spotify will stop using that category of listening to influence your personalised recommendations and insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Spotify says listening during a Private Session won’t contribute to your Spotify Wrapped or personalised recommendations. Private Session also hides that listening activity from friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spotify’s default settings are designed to suit a broad range of listeners, but they won’t necessarily provide the ideal experience for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If sound quality matters most, exploring lossless audio and volume normalisation is a good starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re frustrated with recommendations, changing your shuffle settings and excluding certain playlists from your taste profile could make a noticeable difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you value privacy, adjusting your listening activity settings gives you more control over what other people can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best part is that none of these changes takes particularly long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spending a few minutes exploring Spotify’s settings could help you rediscover more music you love and enjoy a much more personalised listening experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spotify might be one of the easiest ways to listen to music, but are you getting the best experience from your subscription? Most people open Spotify, choose a playlist and press play. However, buried inside the app’s settings are several features that can dramatically change how you listen to music. From improving audio quality and making shuffle less repetitive to stopping children’s songs from taking over your recommendations, a few simple adjustments can make Spotify feel much more personalised. Here are eight Spotify settings worth checking in 2026, along with instructions on how to change them. 1. Enable Spotify Lossless…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3520,3521,2628,190],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-5699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-music-listening","tag-music-settings","tag-settings","tag-spotify"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n