Let me permanently disable Smart Shuffle

[Toprem]

Plan: Premium

Country: USA

Device: Pixel 3xl

I do not want to use Smart Shuffle, at all, ever. For the past few months it has been screwing up my Liked Songs and it is extremely annoying. When I turn off shuffle because I am in a block of songs I want to listen to, the next song it plays will ALWAYS be a specific song instead of the next song in the list. This specific song changes whenever I add more songs to my liked songs.

[Toprem]

Hi @Toprem,

Thanks for posting in the Spotify Community, and welcome!

Although at the moment there isn't a way to permanently disable Smart Shuffle, there's currently a Live Idea for having a Smart Shuffle toggle in the Settings menu, which would allow you to disable this feature.

If it's something that you’re interested in, I would recommend adding your +VOTE to the idea. The more votes an idea gets, the likelier it is that Spotify will implement it, and you can read more about how feedback on ideas reaches Spotify here.

You can also Subscribe to the idea by clicking the three dots next to its title; that way, you can be sure to be informed of any relevant updates.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and have a good day!

[ageisen2000]

They also spend more time developing features that will either:
1. Save them money 

2. Make them money

This feature seems to be created to make them money by giving "AI" recommendations based on whatever record label pays them the most. They can seed the AI however they want to force certain songs to play more. 

If this wasn't the case they'd have easily been able to add a toggle in the settings to disable smart shuffle. But they are probably obligated to keep it because it makes them money. 

The only way we can change this feature is by voting with our wallets, which I'm going to be doing soon by switching to an alternative service. 

Spotify let me down by announcing HIFI then never doing it, now they add smart shuffle which almost nobody wants... not sure what's next, but I'm not sure I want to be here for it.

[rinkjames]

I've been a spotify user for a long time. And I;ve stayed abreast of all the issues with features coming and going. This, I think, is finally the last straw for me. Like seriously wth do they expect when they start forcing features on us... Difficult to fathom. AM, here I come.

[eidylon]

They haven't removed your Liked Songs, ... you just have to turn of SmartShuffle ... EVERY, SINGLE, TIME. 

I agree with others, if Spotify want's to keep this feature, it should be an optional thing you have to turn on in your account preferences. 

 Realistically tho, there is NO reason to keep this feature. If i want to listen to random songs based on songs/artists I like (which I do occasionally), then I will use the "Go to [song] Radio" or "Go to [Artist] Radio" features, which work great!

[Koelkaststekker]

It's been a year later and nothing changed.

Shocker.

[PowerChordGamer]

Smart shuffle deletes local files from my phone!! Please let me disable it. This is so annoying. I pay 12$ a month for this garbage. Very close to finding an alternative

[amouc]

For the life of me, since the introduction of the "Smart Shuffle" adding artists I can't stand and introducing them into my play list is nothing short of stupid.  I did not pick them for a reason.  I picked the music I want. For a reason.  Your suggestions are irritating and in 99.99% of the time are wrong. If I want new music, new artists I will go to the home page and look at what you present, ask friends and google the rest and YouTube.  From the very start of this **bleep** people have been requesting its removal. There is always the possibility that some mindless zombie (apologizes to the Zombies) that actually finds it useful.  Is it really that hard Spotify to make your users happy?  It is soo annoying I'm actually looking into YouTube's platform to get away from your forced nonsense.  Maybe others need to follow suit, bail on Spotify and go to a platform that listens to the users.

[zpoigjdaf]

I hate smart shuffle so much. It is the absolute worst part of spotify. Please developers! Get your act together and let me turn this absolute trash feature off.

[Tgul]

Exactly i especially hate it when it takes like 8 different tries to actually turn it off… kinda makes me feel like Spotify is just f***ing with me…

[JR_8000]

All of my 40 playlists are now ruined by the forced Smart Shuffle option without my permission. This is a huge disappointment.

[friedneu]

Add my voice to the chorus asking for a way to globally, permanently turn off smart shuffle. I took the time and effort to carefully curate my playlists and I like them the way they are. To me, 95% of the time smart shuffle is just annoying. Not helpful and not wanted.

[saṅgīta]

Dear Spotify:

Smart Shuffle is a nuisance; it is confusingly/misleadingly designed, with kludgy implementation, and your community management/engagement efforts have left/are leaving much to be desired.The result is a seriously degraded/damaged user experience. I am starting to associate the Spotify brand with very bad/unpleasant things most every time I use the app. This is not a good indicator for your 'good will' valuation metrics.

Enough!

Fix this broken part of the user experience.

Please and thank you.

[deyer4o]

Please please pretty please let me remove the smart shuffle with an option through the settings, I don't want it , i don't use it, i don't want to be paying for something that is annoying to use because of this feature.

[wizardtree]

I wonder if smart shuffle is too important of a value proposition by Spotify to creators, that the developers etc are literally not allowed to turn it off.  There's also the facts that: smart shuffle can be accidently turned on; there are bugs where people can't turn it off; at one point they swapped the order of shuffle and smart shuffle being turned on as you press the button.  It's like a tiny further increase in value to have people accidentally turn it on.

[Metard79]

Ivelina, I wonder how many customers canceled their subscription solely based on this company’s inability to decipher thousands of people asking the same question?

we know how it works, we just hate it and want it gone forever.

simple as that.

[genegarber]

Youtube music forced this option and I left them. I could not turn it off on my liked playlist so I switched to spotify. Stop making smart shuffle a thing. It's garbage. I assume in time you will just turn this into supporting artists that no one wants but the record industry.

[#18]

I could be listening to an album and the shuffle automatically goes to another album by its self and I am getting fed up with it.

[maadlus]

This so-called 'feature' pushes me anotehr step forward to cancelling Spotify and jumping to better-quality and more artist friendly streaming platforms. I'm so far staying just for convenience and the generally well functioning app. But this is one of the more highly irritating features and what makes it all the more irritating and unappealing is that it cannot be permanently turned off. This creates a feeling of justified ill will towards the company itself, as one might towards a bully who could care less about how you define your own liberty. Yes, at the very least make this a 'feature' to toggle on and off under Settings - wouldn't that have been from the first second the most obvious choice - if, if one cared about one's listening community?

[saṅgīta]

Dear Spotify Mod: PLEASE READ: Creating a personal playlist, is, well, a personal expression—not a community effort. A ‘PERSONAL’ playlist, is NOT a place to cram some rando’s suggestions/reccos. A ‘PERSONAL’ playlist, is also NOT a collaboration with an algorithm. Selecting, curating and then sharing a playlist is a VERY personal project. Frequently, created with some measure of love and care. Spotify, your ‘Smart’ Shuffle features has clearly upset more than 7,000 community commenters, plus the many who have never logged in to make a post.

Please respond and update us on your thoughts, plans and efforts, is a sensible way, within the next few days.

Thank you.

[Metard79]

What the guy above me said, but meaner. Fix your app already. How many times do we have to tell you a feature sucks for you to get it? How many of us have to stop paying you for you to get it? Your AI sucks and we hate it, get rid of it.

[katmandoo122]

Pretty convinced that Spotify just hates its customers.