Summary
- Smart filters let you quickly sift through your Library by mood, activity, or genre for tailored listening.
- On mobile/tablet in select countries; filters apply to music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
- Use filters with Spotify AI DJ to play mood- or activity-specific mixes and fine-tune recommendations.
Whenever you sign up for something new, you want to get a feel for how it works. For example, you may take an introductory exercise class before trying to master an expert level one. You probably will play easier levels of a video game as you ramp up to playing the harder ones. You have to master the skills of the game before you take on the final boss. The same goes for learning about new features of your technology.
You start off slow — just learning the interface of a streaming service and seeing what movies or TV shows are available. Then you begin building your own list and fine-tuning the algorithm to match your taste. Before long, you get spot-on recommendations without having to search for them. There are layers to this experience you don’t even notice until you start digging into the app.
The same goes for music streamers like Spotify. Spotify stands apart from its competitors thanks to a few standout features that let users really personalize their experience. Its latest feature takes that a step further, which helps listeners do even more with their own music libraries. Personally, I’m ecstatic about this update — and here’s why.
- Premium Subscription
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$12 per month
- Free trial
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Yes
- Ad plans
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Free with advertisements
Spotify smart filters are a great addition
It makes so much sense for customization purposes
If you’re like me, you create playlists on Spotify for different occasions. I mainly use Spotify playlists for putting together something to listen to while I’m running. The last thing you want when you’re running for extended distances is to come up to a particularly grueling mile and realize the next few songs aren’t going to get you amped up. I’m a big feel runner, so I want to be energized at all times — which requires a hype playlist.
This is usually dance pop, EDM, house music, and songs I can sing along to. If you’ve ever seen me running a race, you can find me mouthing the words to some upbeat song as I’m churning through some tough miles. Spotify makes it easy to make playlists, so I usually do one every few months when I’m starting to get tired of the ones I’ve been listening to while running. But, they aren’t the only times I make Spotify playlists, as I have plenty of ones I listen to while I work. These are usually classical music or jazz, as I like to listen to movie scores to help me power through assignments.
WIth smart filters, I don’t have to go searching through a long list of classic music playlists in order to find some EDM ones. I’m able to filter through my own playlists with different settings — I currently have 45 different playlists, so it’s a gamechanger.
How to use Spotify smart filters
It’s rather simple and effective
Currently, smart filters are only available on mobile and tablet versions in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.
Smart filters don’t only work on music — they also work for audiobooks and podcasts. So, if you have certain ones saved to your library, you’ll be able to filter them as well. Your Spotify’s algorithm will suggest smart filters based on what is in your library. It uses its AI to come up with different filters that you might not have even thought of for your content.
All you need to do is head to Your Library. In the top-left corner, tap the filter icon, and a menu of smart filters will appear. This curated list — created by Spotify — groups your saved content into categories based on activity, mood, or genre. Once you select a filter, your library will instantly reconfigure to show only the songs or playlists that match.
This is a game changer for anyone who doesn’t normally have a good handle on all that they’ve saved in their playlists. It separates itself from streamers like Apple Music by using the algorithm to look deep inside your favorite music and categorizing it even more.
How this can change your usage
It makes total sense
Imagine you’re in need of some silence. You might have a few meditation playlists saved in your library. Smart filters will recognize which ones you have and perhaps can suggest a Meditation or Spa filter. Maybe you like dance music? Then ‘Dance party’ is almost definitely going to be a filter. Sports podcast fan? ‘Sports’ is likely to show up when you enable smart filters.
What you can also use this for is the Spotify AI DJ, which not only caters to your favorite kinds of songs, but now can also play music based off of your filters. If you only want it to play chill music, select the Chill filter and then tap DJ, and it’ll follow your filter’s instructions. This way, you don’t have to have the exact songs that you want saved in your playlists, but can still listen to that kind of music.
There are a ton of possibilities to cater your algorithm to your listening habits. Smart filters can even help you see what genres or moods your playlists are showing. If you want to change them, you can make new playlists to help recalibrate things. It’s a foolproof method to get the music you want more easily.
