Spotify began rolling out a beta feature called Taste Profile to Premium subscribers ages 18 and older in the United States on Sept. 23, letting listeners type plain-language notes that steer their Home feed.
Spotify says Home changes typically appear within a few hours, and notes can be edited or deleted anytime, according to Spotify's announcement.
The rollout follows an initial beta test in New Zealand earlier this year. Taste Profile gives eligible listeners a way to tell Spotify what they want more or less of instead of relying only on their listening history or exclusion controls.
Spotify describes the notes as "gentle guidance" for the Home feed. The company has not said that the same input changes Discover Weekly, Wrapped, Blend, search, radio, or other recommendation surfaces.
The beta is currently available to Premium listeners ages 18 and older in the US and New Zealand through the mobile app. Spotify has not announced a wider rollout timeline for free accounts, younger listeners, or additional markets.
Who gets access to Spotify Taste Profile now
Taste Profile was unveiled in March at SXSW by Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström before Spotify began testing it with Premium listeners in New Zealand.
Spotify said at the time that listeners could adjust their Taste Profile as much as they wanted or leave it untouched. The company introduced it alongside Prompted Playlist, another beta that lets Premium users create personalized playlists using written prompts.
Taste Profile remains a beta feature. Spotify has not announced when it will expand beyond Premium listeners ages 18 and older in the US and New Zealand.
How to use Spotify Taste Profile in the mobile app
Open the Spotify app, tap your profile picture, and select Taste Profile. The screen displays Spotify's brief interpretation of your taste across music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Under "Tell us more," enter what you want to adjust and send the message. Spotify suggests requests such as asking for more '90s alt-rock, more energizing music, a new genre, or particular types of podcasts and audiobooks.
According to Spotify's Taste Profile support page, the feature can also respond to requests for more or less of particular content, although it cannot carry out actions such as following something or enforce absolute rules such as "always show" or "never show."
Spotify says Home recommendations should update after the request is processed. Its rollout announcement says changes typically appear within a few hours, and users can edit or delete their notes at any time.
Spotify currently documents Taste Profile as a mobile feature. The company has not announced support for the web player or desktop app.
What Taste Profile changes, and what Spotify hasn't confirmed
Spotify's underlying taste profile is not new. The company has long used its interpretation of listening behavior to help inform recommendations such as Discover Weekly and Home and personalize experiences including Wrapped and Blend.
What's new is the ability to see Spotify's brief interpretation of that taste and directly give it written guidance. Spotify says this is the first time listeners can view that interpretation across music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
The new notes are specifically documented as steering recommendations on Home. Spotify has not said that a Taste Profile request will directly alter Discover Weekly, Wrapped, Blend, or other personalized features.
Spotify also has not detailed how written requests are weighted against listening history and other recommendation signals. Calling the notes "gentle guidance" suggests they influence rather than completely override the existing recommendation system.
Users can test the feature with a specific request, then check Home after Spotify has had time to update the feed. Existing exclusion controls work differently by reducing the influence of particular tracks or playlists rather than letting listeners describe what they want to see.
Spotify music recommendation controls available to everyone else
Listeners who do not have Taste Profile can still use Spotify's existing exclusion controls. Spotify made track and playlist exclusions available to Free and Premium users globally across web, desktop, iOS, and Android.
To use the feature, select a track or playlist, open the three-dot menu, and choose "Exclude from your taste profile." The option can be reversed later by including the track or playlist again.
Spotify says excluding a track or playlist from your taste profile reduces the effect of past and future listening on recommendations. That can keep sleep music, children's songs, or other one-off listening from affecting personalized suggestions.
Spotify also offers a separate setting that lets parents prevent kids and family music from influencing personalized recommendations and listening insights.
Unlike the new Taste Profile beta, these controls remove or reduce existing signals rather than letting a listener submit a plain-language request for what they want to see next.
Eligible listeners can check for Taste Profile under their profile picture in the Spotify mobile app and submit a note to adjust their Home recommendations. Those without access can continue using Spotify's existing exclusion controls while the beta remains limited.
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