15 Hidden Spotify Features You Need to Try to Transform Your Music

We all use Spotify to soundtrack our daily lives, but if you are just searching for a song and hitting play, you are barely scratching the surface of what this app can do. Tucked away in the menus and search bars are some incredibly powerful features that can completely transform your listening experience.

Whether you want to fine-tune your recommendations, tweak your audio quality, or find hyper-specific music, here are 15 hidden Spotify secrets you need to start using today.

Master the Search Engine

• 1. Search by Lyrics: Got a song stuck in your head but have no idea what it is called? Just type at least three words from the lyrics directly into the Spotify search bar. The app is surprisingly good at identifying the exact track you are looking for.
• 2. Use Search Modifiers: Spotify’s search engine supports advanced modifiers. If you want to find 90s rock, you can type something like genre:rock year:1990-1999. You can mix and match filters like album:, artist:, and label: to find highly specific results without scrolling endlessly.

Supercharge Your Playlists

• 3. Create Custom Cover Art on Mobile: You no longer need a desktop computer to make your playlists look aesthetic. Spotify recently rolled out a feature allowing you to create custom cover art directly on your phone. Just tap the three-dot menu on a playlist you created, select “Create cover art,” and you can upload photos, add text, apply image masks, and even use stickers. (Pro tip: If you want to take your custom playlist covers to the next level with advanced photo editing and unique design assets before uploading them to Spotify, you can easily grab a Picsart premium account for just $10.00).
• 4. Generate Playlists with AI: If you are struggling to build the perfect vibe, let AI do the heavy lifting. You can type in a prompt like “lo-fi beats for intense focus” or “upbeat pop from the 2010s,” and Spotify will instantly generate a tailored playlist for you.
• 5. Recover Deleted Playlists: Ever accidentally deleted a playlist and regretted it? Don’t panic. Go to Spotify.com on your web browser, log in, click on your account settings, and look for “Recover playlists.” You can restore any playlist you deleted within the last 90 days.

Better Discovery & Curation

• 6. Quick Album Previews: When a massive new album drops, you might not have time to listen to every single track. Tap the animated rectangular icon at the top of an album page to open a scrollable, TikTok-style feed. This lets you quickly preview the hook of each song so you can weed out what you don’t like.
• 7. Dive into “Made for You” Mixes: Spotify creates incredible curated playlists based on your listening habits. Beyond “Discover Weekly,” look for “On Repeat” (your current obsessions), “Repeat Rewind” (past favorites), and “Daily Drive” (a mix of news and music). The most fascinating one is “Daylist,” which constantly updates throughout the day based on the hyper-specific vibes you usually listen to at that exact time.
• 8. Exclude from Your Taste Profile: If you share your account or use a specific playlist for background noise (like sleep sounds), you don’t want it ruining your personalized recommendations. Tap the three dots on any playlist and select “Exclude from your taste profile.” Spotify will immediately stop using those tracks to influence your algorithm.
• 9. Discover TV & Movie Soundtracks: Just finished a great movie or show and loved the music? Search for the title, or browse the dedicated “TV & Movies” hub in the search tab to find official soundtracks and curated playlists.
• 10. Stay Updated with “What’s New”: Stop missing out on new releases. Tap the bell icon (or look for “What’s New” in your profile menu) to see a chronological feed of brand-new tracks, albums, and podcast episodes exclusively from the creators you follow.
• 11. Meet Your Personal AI DJ: When you have zero idea what to listen to, tap the “DJ” feature. An AI voice will take over, giving you quick commentary and seamlessly mixing tracks it knows you’ll love based on your historical data.

Optimize Your Playback

• 12. Tweak Audio Quality Settings: Head into your settings and look for “Media Quality.” Here, you can manually increase your streaming and download quality. Just keep in mind that downloading music in the highest tier will take up significantly more storage space on your device.
• 13. Customize the Equalizer and Crossfade: In the “Playback” menu, you can enable Crossfade to eliminate the awkward silence between songs, creating a seamless DJ-like transition. You can also adjust the Equalizer to boost the bass, enhance the treble, or optimize the sound for whatever headphones you are using.

Clever Shortcuts & Integrations

• 14. Go Incognito with Private Session: Want to listen to a guilty pleasure pop song without your friends seeing it on their friend activity feed? Go to “Privacy and Social” settings and toggle on “Private Session.” Your listening activity will be hidden for six hours, and nothing you play will affect your recommendations.
• 15. Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts: If you use the desktop app while working, memorize the keyboard shortcuts. Use Ctrl + Right Arrow to skip a track, Ctrl + L to immediately jump to the search bar, or hit Shift + / to view a master list of all available shortcuts. It is a massive productivity booster.