Spotify introduces a new selection feature that will reduce the influence of other playlists on your recommendations.
It’s called Exclude from Taste Profile and according to the announcement (opens in a new tab)the goal is to make sure your playlists aren’t flooded with “unsuitable songs and artists [your] listening habits” or feel lost. For example, users can prevent their children’s music from appearing in their heavy metal/trap Blend playlists if they have a family plan “or white noise is dominant” [their] Discover the weekly. This is how Spotify will tell you which playlist should have the reduced impact; ultimately resulting in a more personalized experience for you.
Basic rules
Other reports about this feature (opens in a new tab) disclose additional details not included in the original announcement; we were able to confirm all this thanks to the representative of Spotify. Changes to your taste profile exclusion are applied “retroactively” as they will prevent “past and future listening” of the playlist from affecting your own music. This means that even if you voluntarily listen to music from a playlist that you don’t like, it won’t affect your recommendations. But what will affect your taste profile are the songs you like.
Spotify will consider liked songs from excluded playlists “for future recommendations” for a person’s Discover Weekly or Blend Collection. So be careful what you or others in your family are planning on the platform, otherwise these marks will bleed. Also, the Exclude from Taste Profile option only applies to playlists – you cannot block individual albums or songs.
Availability
The Exclude from your Taste Profile feature will be available on Spotify for Android, iOS, desktop app and web browser starting today. Be sure to follow the update when it arrives on your device. To enable this feature, select the three dots at the top of the playlist and the Exclude from flavor profile option will appear in this menu. And if you ever change your mind, follow the same steps again to disable the feature.
2023 promises to be an interesting year for Spotify as the update comes at a particularly quiet time for the platform. A few weeks ago the company announced a layoff around 600 employees, like other big tech companies. And around that time rumors began to circulate that monthly membership costs will increase from $9.99 to $10.99. Of course, nothing has been confirmed, but given similar price increases elsewhere, this worst-case scenario is sadly likely.
Speaking of which, be sure to check it out List of the best music streaming services according to TechRadar if you’re thinking of ditching Spotify.