How to Hide and Unhide a Song on Spotify (Mobile & Desktop)

Quick answer: Open a playlist made by Spotify or another user (not one of your own), tap or click the three-dot menu ( or the minus icon) next to the song, and select Hide this song. Spotify rolled this feature out to the desktop app in addition to mobile, so you’re no longer stuck without it if you mainly listen on a computer. Hiding a track skips it automatically wherever it appears in that playlist, and you can reverse it just as quickly.

One important thing to know upfront: hiding a song only affects that specific playlist or album, not your entire Spotify library. If the same track shows up in a different playlist you haven’t hidden it in, it’ll still play there.

More on exactly what hiding does (and doesn’t do) below.

Why Hide a Song on Spotify?

Cleaning Up Auto-Generated Playlists

Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mixes are built by an algorithm, and algorithms occasionally miss the mark: a genre mismatch, a song you’ve heard one too many times, or a track that just doesn’t belong.

Hiding it keeps that specific mix free of tracks you don’t want, without you having to skip past them every time.

Keeping Shared or Public Playlists on-Theme

If you’re following someone else’s public playlist for a party, workout, or road trip, hiding the tracks that don’t fit lets you enjoy the rest of the playlist as intended, without editing a playlist that isn’t yours to edit.

Fine-Tuning Recommendations

Spotify’s recommendation engine pays attention to what you hide, in addition to what you skip or dislike. Consistently hiding a certain style of track nudges future Discover Weekly and Daily Mix suggestions away from it.

What Hiding a Song Actually Does

Before you start hiding tracks, it’s worth understanding the scope, because it trips a lot of people up:

It only works on playlists created by Spotify or by other users. Discover Weekly, Release Radar, Daily Mixes, radio stations, and public playlists made by other people. You cannot hide a song from a playlist you created yourself; use Remove from this playlist for those instead.
It’s scoped to that one playlist or album, not applied globally. If a song is hidden in your Discover Weekly but appears in a friend’s shared playlist, it’ll still play there.
The hidden song is skipped automatically whenever Spotify reaches it during playback in that playlist. You don’t have to manually skip it each time.
Hiding does not delete, downvote, or unfollow anything. It doesn’t remove the song from Spotify’s catalog, doesn’t affect the artist’s stats, and doesn’t unfollow the playlist.
It’s private. Nobody else can see which songs you’ve hidden, including the person who created the playlist.

If you want a song gone from everywhere, hiding it playlist-by-playlist isn’t the right tool. See the comparison table further down for better options.

How to Hide a Song on Spotify

On Mobile (iPhone & Android)

Open a playlist created by Spotify or another user (not one of your own).
Find the song and tap the three-dot menu (⋮) next to it.
Tap Hide this song.
The track will immediately grey out and get skipped every time it comes up in that playlist.

You can also hide a song while it’s playing: tap the three-dot menu on the Now Playing screen and select Hide this song the same way.

On Desktop (Windows, Mac, and the Web Player)

Spotify has expanded the hide feature to the desktop app, so you’re no longer limited to mobile:

Open a playlist created by Spotify or another user.
Hover over the song you want to hide.
Click the minus icon (−) that appears next to it, or right-click the track and choose Hide song.
The song will grey out and be skipped from then on.

If you don’t see the option, make sure your desktop app is fully updated. This rolled out gradually, and older app versions may not have it yet.

Snooze a Track for 30 Days

If you don’t want to hide a song permanently but also don’t want to hear it for a while, Spotify has a lighter-touch option on mobile:

Tap the three-dot menu next to the track.
Tap Hide in this playlist.
Tap Don’t suggest this song anywhere for 30 days.

This temporarily suppresses the track from recommendations without a permanent hide.

How to Unhide a Song on Spotify

On Mobile

Go back to the playlist or album where you hid the song.
Find the greyed-out track. It’ll show a circle with a minus sign next to it.
Tap that icon, or tap the three-dot menu and select Show in this playlist (or Remove from hidden songs).
The song becomes playable again immediately.

On Desktop

Navigate to the playlist where you hid the song.
Click the same minus/remove icon next to the greyed-out track.
The track is restored and playable right away.

If You Can’t Find the Song You Hid

If you’re not sure which playlist a hidden song was in, checking your Playback settings can help surface it:

iOS: Settings → Playback → toggle off “Hide Unplayable Songs.”
Android: Settings → Playback → toggle on “Show Unplayable Songs.”

With this enabled, hidden tracks will show up (greyed out) in their playlists again, making them easier to locate and unhide. Once you’re done, you can toggle the setting back if you’d rather not see greyed-out tracks in your playlists going forward.

Note: If you hid the same song in multiple playlists, you’ll need to unhide it in each one individually. There’s no single “unhide everywhere” button.

Hidden Song vs. Greyed-Out Song: They’re Not Always the Same Thing

If a track looks greyed out and you’re sure you never hid it, hiding might not actually be the cause. A few other things also grey out a song:

Regional licensing restrictions – the track isn’t available in your country
A removed or unavailable track – the label or artist pulled it from the catalog
Local files that have moved or been deleted – if you’ve added local files to a playlist

A genuinely hidden song will show the small circle-with-a-minus icon next to it; a licensing-restricted track typically won’t.

Hide vs. Remove vs. Block Artist vs. Exclude from Taste Profile

Spotify has several tools that sound similar but do different things. Here’s how to pick the right one:

Tool	What it does	Where it applies	Best for
Hide song	Skips the track automatically	That one playlist or album only	A track you don’t want in a specific Spotify or public playlist
Remove from playlist	Deletes the track from the playlist entirely	Only works on playlists you own	Cleaning up your own playlists
Don’t play this artist (desktop)	Skips all tracks by that artist during playback	Applies more broadly during listening sessions	When you want an entire artist gone, not just one song
Exclude from taste profile	Stops a playlist or track from influencing future recommendations	Affects what Spotify recommends going forward	Fixing recommendations without hiding anything

If your goal is simply “stop this specific song from playing in this specific playlist,” hiding is the right call. If you want a song gone from a playlist you own, use Remove. If an entire artist isn’t your thing, “Don’t play this artist” is more efficient than hiding every track one by one.

Common Mistakes When Hiding Songs on Spotify

Trying to hide a song from your own playlist. The Hide option won’t appear there. Use Remove from this playlist instead.
Expecting a hidden song to disappear everywhere. Hiding is scoped to one playlist or album at a time, not applied globally.
Assuming a greyed-out track is automatically “hidden.” Licensing restrictions and removed tracks also grey out songs, and won’t have the hide icon.
Forgetting where you hid something. Without turning on “Show unplayable/hidden songs,” a hidden track can be genuinely hard to relocate later.
Using an outdated desktop app and assuming the hide feature doesn’t exist on desktop; update the app first.

Quick Tips

Hiding a song is a good long-term habit for keeping Discover Weekly and Daily Mixes genuinely tailored to your taste. The more consistently you hide mismatched tracks, the better those algorithmic playlists tend to get.
If you frequently hide entire genres or moods, it’s often faster to use “Don’t play this artist” or adjust your taste profile rather than hiding song by song.
Hidden status only carries over per playlist, so if you follow a lot of overlapping playlists (e.g., multiple genre radios), expect to hide the same disliked track more than once.

Wrapping Up

Hiding a song on Spotify is a quick way to keep algorithmic and public playlists free of tracks that don’t fit, and now that the feature works on desktop as well as mobile, you’re not stuck reaching for your phone every time.

Just remember the scope. Hiding only applies to the playlist or album you hid it in; it only works on playlists you don’t own, and it’s completely reversible whenever you change your mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you unhide a song on Spotify?

Yes. Go back to the playlist where you hid it, tap or click the minus/remove icon next to the greyed-out track, and it becomes playable again immediately.

Does hiding a song on Spotify hide it from everyone?

No. Hiding is entirely private to your account. Other users, including the playlist’s creator, can’t see which songs you’ve hidden.

Can I hide songs on Spotify desktop now?

Yes. Spotify has expanded the hide-song feature to the desktop app for Windows, Mac, and the web player, alongside the mobile app. If it’s not showing up, make sure your app is updated to the latest version.

Why can’t I hide a song in my own playlist?

The Hide feature only works on playlists created by Spotify or other users. For playlists you’ve made yourself, use Remove from this playlist instead. Since you control the tracklist directly, there’s no need to hide anything.

Does hiding a song delete it or affect the artist?

No. Hiding only stops that track from playing in the specific playlist or album where you hid it. It doesn’t remove the song from Spotify’s catalog, affect the artist’s streams, or unfollow anything.

Can I hide an entire album at once?

Not in a single action. Spotify doesn’t currently offer bulk-hide for albums or playlists. Songs need to be hidden individually, track by track.

Will hiding a song remove it from my playlists?

Only if the song is in a playlist created by Spotify or someone else, and even then, it’s just skipped, not deleted. If it’s in a playlist you own, hiding doesn’t apply; you’d need to remove it manually.

Why is a song greyed out even though I never hid it?

It’s likely unavailable for another reason. Most often, a regional licensing restriction, or the track being pulled from Spotify’s catalog entirely. Genuinely hidden songs show a small circle-with-a-minus icon; licensing-restricted ones typically don’t.

What’s the difference between hiding a song and using “Don’t play this artist”?

Hiding affects one track in one playlist. “Don’t play this artist” (available on desktop) skips every track by that artist during your listening sessions, which is faster if your issue is with the artist generally rather than one specific song.

If I hide the same song in multiple playlists, do I need to unhide it separately in each one?

Yes. Hidden status is scoped per playlist or album, so there’s no single toggle to restore a song across every place you’ve hidden it.

Does hiding a song affect my Spotify recommendations?

It can. Spotify factors hidden tracks into what it recommends going forward, similar to skips and dislikes, so consistent hiding can help fine-tune Discover Weekly and Daily Mixes over time.

Is there a way to temporarily hide a song instead of permanently?

Yes. On mobile, use “Hide in this playlist” followed by “Don’t suggest this song anywhere for 30 days” for a temporary suppression rather than an indefinite hide.

How do I find songs I’ve hidden if I forgot which playlist they were in?

Turn on “Show unplayable songs” (Android) or turn off “Hide Unplayable Songs” (iOS) in Settings → Playback. This makes hidden tracks visible (greyed out) again across your playlists so you can locate and unhide them.

We hope you found this solution helpful. Please like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. In addition, we ask that you bookmark this page for future reference.

Disclosure: If you follow our links to a retailer’s website and make a purchase, we will get an affiliate commission on some, but not all, of the items or services we promote. This will cause no price change for you.