Parents who regularly share their Spotify account with their children may soon have fewer nursery rhymes and movie soundtracks taking over their personalized playlists. On September 15, Spotify began rolling out a new setting that allows users to exclude kids’ and family music from their personal taste profile.
The company says the setting covers music such as nursery rhymes, songs from children’s movies, family television themes and other music intended for kids. Once disabled, those songs can still be searched for, played and added to playlists, but they will no longer influence recommendations.
“Parents don’t always share the same taste as their young children,” Spotify said, explaining that playing music for kids should not necessarily change a parent’s personal recommendations. The new setting also works retroactively, meaning previously played kids’ music can be removed from the information influencing recommendations and Wrapped.
The feature is rolling out globally on mobile devices for both Free and Premium users. It affects personalized features including Discover Weekly, Daily Mix and Spotify Wrapped, while allowing families to continue listening to children’s music together.
How to Turn Off Kids’ Music on Spotify
Changing the setting takes only a few taps. Parents should open Spotify on their mobile device and tap their profile picture in the upper-left corner to access Settings and privacy.
From there, select Content and display and look for Include kids and family music in taste profile. The setting is turned on by default, so parents who want their children’s listening separated from their own recommendations will need to switch it off.
Spotify says the change may take up to 48 hours to appear fully in personalized recommendations. Parents should therefore not expect their Discover Weekly or Daily Mix to change immediately after adjusting the setting.
The feature doesn’t prevent children from listening to their favorite music. Instead, it creates a distinction between music parents play for their children and the music they personally want Spotify to use when making recommendations.
Why Parents May Welcome the Change
For families sharing one account, children’s listening can easily become part of an adult’s musical profile. A few months of road trips, bedtime routines and repeated animated-movie soundtracks can potentially influence the recommendations and listening statistics associated with that account.
The change could also make Spotify Wrapped more representative of a parent’s own listening habits. As Billboard reported when the feature was announced, Spotify is giving parents a way to keep children’s music from influencing “recommendations, listening insights and Wrapped.”
That may be particularly useful for parents who use their personal accounts as the household’s shared music player. Instead of choosing between playing a child’s favorite song and protecting their own recommendations, parents can now do both.
Ultimately, the setting gives families another way to customize how Spotify works without restricting children’s access to music. Parents can continue enjoying music together while keeping their own recommendations, playlists and annual Wrapped experience more closely connected to their individual listening habits.
