Can People See What You Listen to on Spotify?

The Short Answer

Only if you let them. Spotify has a setting called Listening activity. When it's on, the people you share with can see the song you're playing right now, or the last thing you played if you're not listening. When it's off, nobody sees any of it.

There's also a separate setting called Recently played artists, which puts a few artists you've been playing on your public profile. That's the whole list. Nobody can scroll through your full listening history, your top tracks or your Liked Songs, and nobody can tell when you've looked at their profile either. We cover that side in does Spotify show who viewed your profile.

Friend Activity Is Now Called Listening Activity

If you've used Spotify on a computer, you've probably seen Friend Activity: the panel on the right side of the desktop app that lists what the people you follow are playing. For years it only existed on desktop, which is why a lot of phone-only users never knew it was there.

That changed in January 2026, when Spotify brought Listening Activity to its mobile app as part of Messages, with the rollout reaching all Messages markets by early February. MacRumors called it the moment the feature "finally" came to mobile, which tells you how long people had been asking. It shows what your friends are playing in real time, and if someone isn't playing anything, you see their most recent song instead.

So "Friend Activity," "listening activity" and "Spotify activity" all mean roughly the same thing: a live look at what the people you're connected to are playing.

Who Can See Your Listening Activity

According to Spotify's Listening Activity help page, your activity can reach two groups:

• Your followers, in the Friend Activity feed on desktop.
• Friends you're connected with in Messages, on mobile. Spotify says this view is only visible to people you've already connected with there, and Messages features are for users 16 and up.

You don't have to share with everyone. The Who can see your activity option lets you switch your activity off for followers and pick specific friends instead. Spotify notes you may need the mobile app to choose individual friends, and whatever you set applies to all your devices.

One thing worth checking: Spotify's own help pages don't agree on the default. The Listening Activity page says it's off by default, while the Privacy and social controls page lists it as on for users 18 and over and off for anyone younger. If you've had your account for years, don't assume either way. Open the setting and look.

What People Can and Can't See

What people can see

• The track you're playing now, or your last played song (only if Listening activity is on)
• A few recently played artists on your profile (only if Recently played artists is on)
• Your public playlists
• Your followers and following lists, if that setting is on

What people can't see

• Your full listening history
• Your top artists or top tracks
• Your Liked Songs or private playlists
• Your Wrapped, unless you share it yourself
• Whether you've visited their profile

Your Spotify taste profile isn't visible to anyone either. It only shapes your own recommendations.

How to Turn Off Listening Activity

On mobile:

1. Tap your profile picture at the top of the app.
2. Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy and social.
3. Switch off Listening activity. While you're there, you can switch off Recently played artists too.

On desktop:

1. Click your profile picture and choose Settings.
2. Find the listening activity section and turn the toggle off.

Spotify moves menus around between versions, so the wording on your app might be a little different. For every other privacy setting in one place, see how to make your Spotify profile private.

How to Hide One Session With Private Session

If you're happy sharing most of the time but want to hide one late-night listening binge, use a Private Session instead. Per Spotify's private listening page, a private session:

• keeps your listening out of Friend Activity
• stops your recently played artists from updating on your profile
• keeps that listening out of your recommendations and your Wrapped
• lasts up to 6 hours, or until you restart the app

It's an account-level setting, so turning it on from your phone also covers your laptop, speakers and TV. The steps for every device are in our guide on how to view Spotify anonymously with Private Session.

How to See Your Friends' Activity on Spotify

On mobile, open the friends carousel on your profile or check the Messages section. On desktop, click Listening Activity next to your profile picture. Spotify's Friend Activity help page covers both.

A friend only shows up if they've turned their own sharing on. Yours doesn't have to be on, though: Spotify says you can see other people's activity even with your own switched off. On mobile you can also react to what a friend is playing or start a Jam with them from the same screen.

You do need to be connected first. If you haven't followed anyone yet, here's how to add friends on Spotify.

Spotify Friend Activity Not Showing?

If a friend's activity isn't there, it's usually one of these:

• They've switched Listening activity off, or left you out under Who can see your activity.
• They're in a Private Session, which pauses sharing for up to 6 hours.
• You aren't connected yet (following them on desktop, or connected in Messages on mobile).
• Messages isn't available in your country, so the mobile version doesn't appear.
• Your app is out of date or stuck.

For that last one, Spotify's suggested fixes are to update the app, update your phone or computer, restart the app, log out and back in, or reinstall it.

See Your Own Listening Stats

Listening Activity only ever shows one song. If you want the bigger picture of your own listening (top artists, top tracks and recent plays across different time ranges), that's what Music Profile Viewer does. It uses Spotify's official read-only login, shows only your own data and doesn't store anything. For more ways to dig in, see how to see your Spotify stats anytime.