Delete local files

[bonjoursimone]

Hello everyone,

I recently sorted out my music in iTunes and therefore deleted many music files.

However all these local files, even those erased, still appear in my Spotify, even when I deactivate the display of my local files in my preferences! Grrrr.. How can I make them disappear??!

Thank you for your answer!

[Emma-Grace]

Hey does anyone know how to remove just some songs from local files? I only want to remove a few but not all of them. Thanks!

[Vasil]

Hey @Emma-Grace,

Thanks for joining the thread!

For the time being, you can only toggle the Local Files on or off. 
Removing specific ones would be possible by manually relocating the local files themselves away from your device.
As a workaround though, although I haven't tried this myself, you could also try putting the files in a secure folder, which should be out of the reach of the Spotify app.

Let us know how it goes! We're here for you should any questions arise 🙌🏼

[jjacksonspencer]

Hi, I am having a similar issue with madinabcn. I originally downloaded the files onto my laptop, which I then synced onto my phone. I have since deleted the files from my laptop, yet they remain on my phone, and I have no way to delete them. I have no idea what to do as the files originally came from the laptop, and I have no idea if the files are even stored on my phone, and if so, how to access them and delete them.

I have redownloaded spotify, ensured I am up to date, and ensured none of the songs are liked (none where to begin with).

The phone that I am using is an iPhone 11 and is on the latest OS, iOS 17.

[Ivelina]

Hey @jjacksonspencer and thanks for posting!

Because you haven't mentioned this, could you also make sure to toggle off "Show local audio files" on your iPhone? You can find this in Settings and privacy > Local files. After that, you can also log out > log back in to refresh the app. 

Let us know if that does the trick. 

[jjacksonspencer]

Thanks for the reply,

However, I don't want to turn off local files on my phone, as I am trying to upload the same songs, but with better quality. This is my issue as when I go to play the songs, spotify detects the old original files from the phone, and the new files from the laptop, which causes it to work incorrectly.

[OscarDC]

Hey @jjacksonspencer,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the clarification.

The process of turning off the local files, restarting the app and turning them on again is to sync the info between your account and your phone to see if this refreshes the info shown, you can give it a try. If that doesn't work for you, we'd recommend removing those files from your phone and app, before storing the new versions you mentioned.

We understand you've already tried some troubleshooting steps including reinstalling, but to make sure all cache files had been removed - did you use the steps for a clean reinstall mentioned in this article? We recommend this step since it gets you the latest app version and removes old corrupted data that could be causing issues with the app's performance on your device.

After this, if the app is not showing the local files anymore, you can add the new versions by following the process mentioned in this article.

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

[norazz]

i have the exact same problem and i have done the same thing, removed old bad quality ones with the new ones but they have the same name so my phone will play the old one

[MihailY]

Hey @norazz,

Thanks for reaching out.

Where exactly are you seeing the old files? In your playlists, Liked Songs or in the Local Files folder in Your Library? Is it possible to send us a few screenshots or a short video of how things look on your end?

Cheers,

[thebloodofjesus]

this worked thank you queen

[raphazacka]

Ele deixa de mostrar, mas não apaga os arquivos da memória do celular. Tenho 2000 arquivos e estou tendo que apapgar um a um 😞

[ididntwantanaccount]

is there a mac solution?

[jjacksonspencer]

this is for phone, you should be able to just delete the files from the finder app on your mac. it mostly depends on if you originially downloaded the files on your mac or phone

[vxzspe]

what would i have to do if i only wanted to delete a select few? i have some files in my Local Files that i no longer have on my computer, but still show up and don’t play. if i were to do this would it delete every other file as well? if so how could i avoid that?

[AlejaR]

Hey there @vxzspe,

Thanks for posting here and welcome.

To remove those few local files that you no longer have on your computer, we'd suggest you perform a clean reinstall of the desktop app. By doing that, the app can be up-to-date, and you can make sure the cache is not leading to that behavior. You can follow the steps here to do it.

The reinstallation process should not affect any other local files that are still stored on your computer, so you can sync them with the app afterwards. Keep in mind the app will recognize the files locally stored on your computer, so you should be able to sync them with no issues once you've reinstalled the app.

In summary, to delete a few of your local files you just need to re-sync your local files, so the app scans your folders and just caches the needed data,  and then it can list and update your local files.

Keep us in the loop and don't hesitate to get back to us if you have any other questions.

[SOL_ARIA]

Thank you!

[afrostargirl]

For me, it says windows can't find it 😞

[OscarDC]

Hey @afrostargirl,

Welcome to the Community and thank you for joining the conversation.

Just to be on the same page, would you mind confirming the troubleshooting you've tried so far? If you haven't tried any, we'd first recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps mentioned in this article as @AlejaR previously suggested.

If the issue persists after that, include in your next response more details about the issue you're having with some screenshots (if possible) to take a better look at it. Include as well the make, model, and OS version of your device, along with the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating the case.

We'll be on the lookout for your response.