If You’ve Ever Shared a Spotify Link Publicly, You Need to Turn Off Spotify Private Messages
Spotify wants to be just another messaging platform, but its new private messaging system has a quirk that makes me hesitant to recommend it. Spotify used to be completely identity-free, but that all changed with messaging. Spotify’s private messaging system now attaches account information to song links and displays it to users. That means it can accidentally reveal the name and profile photo of the person sharing the link, even if they didn’t intend to share their account information. Luckily, there’s a way to make links more private and turn off Spotify private messaging entirely.
How Spotify Accidentally Leaks User Information
It all starts with URL tracking. Many large internet companies use them. They embed information at the end of the URL to track where clicks came from. Which site, which page, or, in the case of Spotify, which user. If you previously created a share link for a song or playlist, it would have a string at the end with your user ID. And when someone opened that link and acted on it, embedding the song or playing it, your account information would be stored in their account as a sort of link. It might be a little intrusive, but since users couldn’t do much with that information, Spotify was basically just tracking how often people shared music with each other.
Previously, this happened quietly, and no one cared. But with Spotify’s new DM feature, connections made through tracking links are suddenly in plain sight. As Reddit user u/sporoni122 noted , these connections now show up in the “Recommended” section when using Spotify DM, even if you accidentally clicked on a public link once and never heard of the person who shared it. You may also have shared the link before, and you may be shown account information about people who clicked on it.
Even if the account is public, I can see how annoying it is. Imagine sharing a song on a Discord server where you’re anonymous, but someone clicks on it and finds your Spotify account, where you’re probably using your real name. Bam — suddenly they know who you are.
Reddit user u/Reeceeboii added that Spotify uses this URL tracking behavior to populate the list of songs and playlists that two users share, even if it happens through third-party messaging services like WhatsApp.
How to Remove Trackers from Links Before Sharing Spotify Playlists
So, if you don’t want someone to find your Spotify account through your songs that you share, what should you do? Before posting to anonymous communities like Discord or X, try cleaning up the links first.
My colleagues and I have already written about how to automatically remove tracking information from URLs on iPhone , how to use a Mac app to clean links without any effort , or how to use a universal extension to do the job regardless of platform. You can also use a site like Link Cleaner to clean links.
Or you can take a manual approach. In the Spotify link, remove everything that starts with a question mark.
So this is the tracked link:
This becomes a clean link:
Here, the part with “si=” is your identifier. Of course, if you share a playlist, your name and profile picture will still be visible — that’s how the platform has always worked. So if you want to remain completely anonymous, you should make your playlists private.
How to Disable Spotify Direct Messages
If you don’t plan on using Spotify Direct Messages, you might want to turn them off entirely. You’ll probably still want to remove tracking information from URLs before posting, just to be on the safe side. But if you don’t want to worry about receiving Spotify Direct Messages or having your account appear in a list of suggested contacts for strangers, go to Settings > Privacy & Social > Social Features and turn off Messages. This will turn off Direct Messages entirely.