Turn off video

[Bob330]

Plan

Premium

Country

Canada

Device

Samsung s10e

Operating System

Android 12

My Question or Issue

Harley quinn and joker podcast trailer will always play with video even with data saver on and canvas off and stream audio only on. I would like a way to turn off all video when data saver is on

[bigm]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Pixel 7a

Operating System

Android

My Question or Issue

Although I thought I had disabled automatic video playback, new video playback features keep popping up.

Now it's e.g. when scrolling down while a song is playing which has videos available. There's the video preview of that videos which I haven't found a way to disable. It's quite distracting when wanting to focus on the song and the lyrics. Another example are the discover genres tiles in the search tab.

So I guess what I would like is a way to disable any automatic video playback in the app, even for video previews. It's a music app and not YouTube after all, although Spotify executives seem to see that differently nowadays 😄

[Susan_GP]

Hi there @Bob330,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community and welcome!

Do you mean the video will play by itself without you selecting it? Could you possibly send us a video recording of this behavior? You can attach it in your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and make it public, so we can visualize it.

In the meantime, try reinstalling the app to check if that makes a difference. No worries, you won't lose any saved content, but you'll have to download your offline music again if Premium.

On another note, it's not possible to turn off or disable videos. However, it seems other users would like to have that option as well, and similar ideas have been posted here - feel free to add your vote to them: 

• It should be possible to turn off all video content
• Easily toggle video streaming on mobile data

The Idea Exchange is a great way for us to see what our users are interested in and how many people like a certain idea. Check out this FAQ to learn more about it. 

If you need a hand with anything else, we're always a post away!

[bigm]

I think OP's issue is unrelated to the one that I described, although I noticed I have the same problem with some songs, when I play with my TV connected. Some songs just play as video without asking and I haven't found a setting to disable it, neither on the phone nor on the TV. There's the possibility to switch to audio after the song has started playing, but this completely restarts the song.

What I described above is about the video previews which "play" as suggestions even without explicitly selecting them. I'm too lazy to do a screencast, but I have marked the places in the attached screenshots.

[Eni · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your reply, @bigm.

I'm afraid it's not possible to disable these video previews, but your feedback is greatly appreciated as it may ultimately end up paving the way for our broader user experience.

We'd also like to let you folks know that we're actively working on granting the plan manager additional control over the available content on the platform (such as limiting access to videos and podcasts), making it more suitable for listeners who are too old for a Kids account, but still too young for a standalone Spotify account. There's more info on the topic in this article, check it out if you're interested.

Currently, this feature is available only in certain regions and although we're unable to provide an exact ETA at this time, rest assured we plan on expanding its reach to more markets in the future.

If you're referring to the Canvas feature, you can turn it off in Settings.

Hope this clears things up. Should you need a hand with anything else, the Community is just a post away.

[PMatos]

I share my family subscription with my daughter and son and they started to watch videos on Spotify when Spotify had, until now, been only for their music enjoyment. I need to find a way to disable videos in their accounts, otherwise I will need to find another service. Do you have any suggestions? Alternatively is there any 3rd party app I can use the accesses the Spotify api but does not provide videos?

[Frektoon]

I'm annoyed by this video that is displayed in some songs and I don't think I can turn it off and the best thing is that it loops, it's not a full music video or video, it just runs for a certain moment and then resets and it irritates me too 

[MateusAuri]

**bleep** video previews are unwanted

edit: why the automatic bleep? there was nothing to be censored there! I just said I agree with bigm

[BestDolly]

My children have just lost their Spotify because I  don’t want them watching videos - I want them to listen to music.

Please can you reverse this trend Spotify!! 

[sackriverfilms]

Really getting to the end of my rope with spotify. Last thing in the world I need is a forced video previews on my phone while listening to music. I don't want distraction, I want music. I am so not interested in your video "reviews" you are forcing on me.

Spotify UI is becoming such an ugly mess. 

Can we have a player for just....music??? No video podcasts, no video reviews, no popups, no concert ads. I'm trying to escape annoying distractions when I use spotify, not looking for yet another bunch of promos fighting for my attention. 

[funkster120]

Can Spotify offer a solution for this problem please?

[TomPettyFan]

Hi Spotify team, I'd love to see an option to disable video previews/backgrounds when playing a song. Not only are they distracting, but some previews feature flickering lights that can trigger seizures and pose a serious health risk. Additionally, the constant video loop can be a significant distraction for users who need to focus on work or other tasks. I'd appreciate it if you could prioritize this feature request and provide a solution as soon as possible. Thank you for your attention to this important issue!

[Itsitsktxktxktxtxtd]

Please Spotify, I find auto playing videos so distracting! Just music, please please please 🙏

[#14]

The app has a section titled "Related music videos" which autoplays the videos even when on mobile data. I don't want these videos. How can I turn them off or at least let them not autoplay/buffer so they don't use my mobile data?

[Martin2153]

I hate autoplaying videos. I'm cancelling my subscription and switching to another service. 

[ahvzren]

Recently they started showing some "podcast" (I thought podcasts didn't have videos) on my home screen all the time of some random guy telling me how to live my life. I hate it, and I can't get rid of it. The sponsored ads for music I don't want to listen to were bad enough, but now on a platform I pay for I have to deal with autoplay videos of things I have no interest in either.

I've been slowly consolidating all the music I listen to on Spotify and buying it on bandcamp and other platforms instead in preparation of switching. But I love discover weekly and it's going to be really sad to leave that behind. 

But just like the other issues people have reported here where they're trying to force broken or irritating features on people, Spotify execs and product managers don't care.

[dp12345]

Same here - as long as this video playing cannot be disabled, our kids will not use spotify anymore. We don't want them to be stuck on videos if they are just wanting to listen music while playing legos. 

[arrgeebivv]

Spotify was a safe way for kids to listen to music. Now, with video content, it's become YouTube Kids. I like the platform, but not enough to allow another addictive algorithm-driven trash video vector into my kids' brains. PLEASE give us an option to disable video.

[Frektoon]

Settings display and click off canvas  

[user-removed]

is was able to block videos on the desktop app. I added

199.232.210.248,

199.232.214.248

to the deny list in my firewall. Its currently not working on mobile but a bit is better then nothing.

I will try to figure out why this is not working on mobile atm.