There is so much incredible content available to listen to on Spotify. However, sometimes you run into a track in a playlist or album that you don’t want to listen to. If this is the case, you can “hide” the song to stop Spotify from playing it, as long as the playlist doesn’t belong to you or you are hiding a song in an album. That song will only become available to listen to again once you “unhide” it. This is how to hide and unhide songs on Spotify.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
To hide and unhide songs on Spotify, open the Spotify mobile app on your Android or iOS device. Find the song you want to hide in either a playlist that isn’t your own or an album. Press ⋮ or ᐧᐧᐧ next to the song’s name, and then either select Hide this song, or Hidden to unhide the song.
KEY SECTIONS
How to hide songs on Spotify
Being able to hide or unhide songs is an incredibly useful function for people wanting to block out music they don’t want to hear. For example, if you don’t want to hear a specific song that has strong language without having to filter it out as explicit. However, stumbling upon the Hide this song function in Spotify can be a little bit tricky.
First off, if you want to hide music on your desktop app or web player, you are attempting the impossible. Additionally, you currently cannot see Hide this song when accessing songs from your Liked Songs list, Spotify search bar results, or an artist’s profile.
You can only hide songs in public playlists and albums on the Spotify mobile app.
You can only hide songs that are in playlists that are not your own, or in albums. Otherwise, the Hide this song button will not appear.
Public playlists
In the Spotify mobile app, go to a playlist that does not belong to you. This can be any public playlist, including an artist radio or a playlist generated by Spotify.
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Press ⋮ or ᐧᐧᐧ next to the name of the song you want to hide. The song options menu for that song will appear.
Press Hide this song. This button looks like a minus sign inside of a circle.
Remember, this must be a public playlist. If you try to hide a song from your own playlist or your Liked Songs, it will not work. The Hide this song button will not appear in playlists that belong to you.
Albums
In the Spotify mobile app, go to an album.
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Press ⋮ or ᐧᐧᐧ next to the name of the song you want to hide. The song options menu for that song will appear.
Press Hide this song. This button looks like a minus sign inside of a circle.
If you search for a song in the search bar, you will not see Hide this song when it shows up as part of the search results. Instead, select it from there if it shows up in an album or as a single. The option will then become available.
How to unhide a song on Spotify
Once you’ve hidden a song from Spotify using the Hide this song function, you won’t be able to select the song for playback. If you have Show unplayable songs switched on in Settings, you will continue to see all of your hidden songs on Spotify; however, they will be greyed out.
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If this is the case for you, you will be able to unhide your previously hidden song. To unhide music on Spotify:
- Open the Spotify mobile app for Android or iOS.
- Open the Settings menu by selecting the gear-shaped icon in the upper-right corner of the Home screen.
- Ensure Show unplayable songs is enabled, meaning that the slider is green.
- Navigate to the song you wish to unhide.
- Open song options by selecting the ⋮ or ᐧᐧᐧ button next to that song’s name.
- Select the button that says Hidden to unhide this song.
How to hide recently played artists on Spotify
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Spotify allows you to hide your recently played artists from your Spotify profile. This way, when people visit your Spotify user profile, they will not see your recently played artists.
To do this on Android and iOS:
- Open the Spotify mobile app.
- Tap the gear-shaped Settings icon at the top of the home screen.
- Scroll down to the section marked Social. If Recently played artists is switched on, meaning it’s green, select it once. This will hide recently played artists, and the slider will turn grey.
To do this on the desktop:
- Open the Spotify desktop app.
- Open the display name dropdown and click Settings.
- Scroll down to the section marked Social.
- If Show my recently played artists on my public profile is switched on, meaning the slider is green, click it once. This will hide recently played artists, and the slider will turn grey.
Songs are often greyed out if (a) the song is unavailable in your country or region, (b) you have an unstable network or network connection issue, or (c) you have hidden that piece of music. Censorship is also a possibility.
