While Spotify is often used for sharing playlists with friends, there may be some playlists or listening behaviors that you want to keep private. That's where Spotify's Make Private option comes in handy.
Once you make a Spotify playlist private, your followers will no longer be able to view the playlist, and it won't appear in any searches.
You can make a Spotify playlist private in both the desktop app for Mac and PC as well as the mobile app for iPhone and Android.
Alternatively, you can set up a private listening session so that your friends won't be able to see what you're listening to during that time.
Here's how to make a playlist private, or start a private listening session.
How to make a Spotify playlist private on the desktop app
1. Open Spotify on your Mac or PC.
2. Open the playlist you'd like to make private by searching for it, or selecting it from the left-hand sidebar.
3. Click the three dots to the left of the large green Play button, just below the playlist's name.
4. Click Make Private. If you instead see a button that says Make Public, the playlist is already private.
How to make a Spotify playlist private on the mobile app
1. Open the Spotify app on your iPhone or Android device.
2. Open the playlist you want to make private by searching for it or finding it in the Your Library tab.
3. Tap the three dots under your playlist name.
4. Tap Make Private. A pop-up message should automatically appear and confirm saying that you've made the playlist private.
How to set up a private listening session on Spotify
Your listening activity can be viewed by friends using the Friend Activity section of the app.
Setting up a private session prevents that. Here's how to start a private listening session:
1. Open the Spotify app on your desktop computer.
2. Click your profile name, located toward the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Choose Private session.
