Spotify Trials New Option to Turn Off Personalized Recommendations
Spotify is trialing a new ability for users to turn off their personalized recommendations, according to beta code unearthed by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.
Depending on how it works, the new option could conceivably allow users to prevent songs played on their account on behalf of other listeners from affecting their personalized recommendations. Either way, it is likely to be welcomed by Spotify users who aren't entirely satisfied with the success rate of the service's algorithms in matching new songs to their listening tastes.
Spotify's recommendation system combines a number of machine learning and AI-driven methods. The service's algorithm analyzes listening history, favorite genres, and the time of day that users listen to music, and bases its personal recommendations on these parameters. This process is combined with content-based filtering, which analyzes the audio of a song that a user interacts with, and takes into account characteristics like time signature, key, and tempo to recommend new songs with similar characteristics.
Spotify's recommendations system also uses something called collaborative filtering. For example, if two users have similar music tastes, Spotify might recommend songs one user has listened to but the other hasn't. However, this can end up with Spotify recommending more popular items more often than lesser known songs, resulting in an "echo chamber" effect, and for new users with no listening history it is next to useless.
It's not clear when the new option to turn off personal recommendations will appear for Spotify users, or whether the trial is region-specific. Spotify simply says it is "evaluating the ability," and thanks users for trying it out to help make Spotify better.
Apple is introducing a similar function for Apple Music subscribers in iOS 17.2, in the form of an additional Focus filter that can automatically turns off a user's Apple Music listening history. Apple's substantial software update is expected to land on iPhones in December.
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
