topic Re: Spotify keeps running in the background in Android

Spotify keeps running in the background

Anabela_S — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 09:12:28 GMT

Hello,

Spotify keeps running in the backgroud even after I close it. The device is Samsung A14.

I've disabled everything I can think of but Spotify still runs in the background.

Please cold you tell me how I can disable it completely and have it running only when I open the app.

I used to have an older Samsung and didn't have this issue.

Thank you,

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Alex — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 09:19:26 GMT

Hi there @Anabela_S,

Thanks for the post.

You can go into your phone's app settings and select the Spotify app. In the related app setting you should be able to find the Battery Saver controls, from which you can select "Restrict background apps". This setting will automatically close the app after some time when it's in the background.

You can search online how to do this for your particular phone model and current OS version, as the exact menus might differ.

It's a phone setting, and you won't be able to manually adjust this from the Spotify in-app settings.

Cheers.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Stride_ — Sun, 12 May 2024 02:13:50 GMT

I use developer options/running services and I stop it every time I exit the app. I tried the battery setting but it takes too long before it terminates the service on my phone. The situation is completely unsat and there should be an option to terminate the service when exiting the app. Some people may like the feature but in my car, using the volume control transmits "play" to Spotify and I can no longer hear the other app I was using.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Joan — Mon, 13 May 2024 08:08:47 GMT

Hi @Stride_,

Thanks for the reply. We'd be happy to investigate this further. Could you please provide us the following:

What device is this on?
Is this on all devices or only on specific one(s)?
When did this start happening?
What other troubleshooting have you tried so far?

Let us know how it goes.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Earthmom — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:05:06 GMT

I'm having the same problem on a Galaxy SE20. I can't get it to close and it's too loud to hear Maps when I need to. I've gone into setting and can't figure out how to get it to stop running in the background. It's also draining my battery.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Maria — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:48:10 GMT

Hey @Earthmom,

Thanks for posting in the thread!

Just to confirm, have you tried the steps mentioned by @Alex earlier in the thread?

If this behavior persists, would you mind sending over the details requested by @Joan? It would also be great if you could send some more info on what's happening from your end. For example, is the Spotify app interfering with Maps when you're not using the app? Or does this happen while listening to Spotify and using Maps at the same time?

Keep us posted on how it goes!

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

RobertD82 — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:04:52 GMT

I've been a long time subscriber to spotify, lately this app is becoming very annoying. I use other media apps sometimes and spotify has decided that it is the only app allowed to be used. What I mean by that, I close the app, force close it, remove it from the notification bar, restrict background usage, pretty much everything that I've seen in these threads. When I'm using any other media app and try to change the track via android auto, or my earbuds spotify automatically opens and start playing a random track from any previous Playlist. This is getting to the point that I'm about to cancel my family plan and go elsewhere. This app was great for a long time, but recently has gone to **bleep**.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Tigerkat — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 21:38:41 GMT

I'm having this problem now too after about a year of no problems. I force stop the app and I have it on battery restricted and it keeps starting up in the background on my phone and eating battery.

I have a Pixel 7.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

ShaneSmiskol — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:52:32 GMT

Also seeing this, swiping up on the app does not stop playback on Pixel 8 Pro Android 15 Beta, only force closing does

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

PR0G4M3R — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 22:12:23 GMT

Having the same issue on PC, its turned off in startup apps, yet keeps showing up in background tasks as running.

Spotify keeps running in the background, how to stop it ?

Blorpblirp — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 18:41:18 GMT

Hello there,

Spotify keeps running in the backgroud even after I close it with a kill application.

I have tested many things and disabled everything I can but Spotify still runs in the background. 😞

The problem is Spotify is a big battery drain for my phone (FairPhone5), over 40% !

Does anyone know how to stop the app when I am not using it ?

Thank you ! 🙂

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background, how to stop it ?

ribezaz — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:07:16 GMT

Hey! How are you? Welcome to the Spotify Community 🙂

You can go to your phone's app settings and select the Spotify app. In the corresponding app settings, you will find the Battery Saver controls, where you can select "Restrict background apps". This setting will automatically close the app after some time in the background.

You may want to search online for how to do this for your specific phone model and current OS version, as the exact menus may be different.

This is a phone setting and you will not be able to manually adjust it in the Spotify app settings.

Keep me updated!

Cheers,
ribezaz

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background, how to stop it ?

Blorpblirp — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 18:54:18 GMT

Thanks ! 🙂

I already tried it and tried it once again this evening. It doesn't work.

When I open an audio or video application (podcast, Youtube, etc), Spotify automatically go on foreground. Impossible to close it... I don't know why, it is a huge battery drain. 😞

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background, how to stop it ?

Eni — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 23:40:27 GMT

Hey @Blorpblirp,

Thanks for getting in touch about this here in the Community.

Could you let us know which troubleshooting steps you've already tried? That way we can avoid repeating any steps. Also, could you let us know if this happens across devices or only on a specific one? If it only happens on a specific device, make sure to let us know the exact make/model, operating system and Spotify version of it.

On another note, would you mind sending us a short screen recording of the issue happening so we can take a closer look? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert Video option in the post editor. You can also upload it to Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video has the permissions for anyone to see it).

We'll be on the lookout.

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

Stgray72 — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 14:37:46 GMT

How can I use the developer option?

Re: Spotify keeps running in the background

AlejaR — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 17:57:55 GMT

Hey there @Stgray72,

Thanks for posting here and welcome.

The way of accessing developer settings might vary depending on the device you use. If possible, you can search online for how to find them on the specific make/model you own.

If perhaps you're having issues while using Spotify, we'd recommend performing a clean reinstall, so you can make sure you're running the latest version of the app and the stores cache is leading to this behavior.

If the above doesn't do the trick, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us:

The make/model and OS of the affected device.
The exact Spotify version you're running.
All the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far.
A full description of the behavior you've noticed.
A video recording of this behavior. You can attach the video to your next reply in mp4 format, or upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and make it public.

Keep us in the loop!