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how to turn off smart shuffle spotify

Here’s how to turn off Smart Shuffle on Spotify, plus how to hide it completely if your app supports the new setting.

Quick Scoop

If you just want the fast answer:

  • Tap the Shuffle button until the ✨ sparkles disappear to turn off Smart Shuffle in a playlist.
  • To remove Smart Shuffle from the app entirely (if you have the new setting), go to Settings & Privacy → Playback → Include Smart Shuffle in Play Modes and toggle it off.

What Smart Shuffle Actually Does

Smart Shuffle is a special shuffle mode that mixes recommended tracks into your playlist on top of your own songs.

You’ll know it’s on when the Shuffle icon shows extra effects (like sparkles) and you start seeing tracks in your queue that aren’t in your original playlist.

There are basically three states when you tap the shuffle icon on a playlist:

  • Off: No shuffle at all (plays in order).
  • Regular shuffle: Shuffles only the songs in your playlist.
  • Smart Shuffle: Shuffles and adds recommendations (icon with ✨ / effect).

Turn Off Smart Shuffle (Mobile App)

Use this when Smart Shuffle is active on a specific playlist and you just want it gone for now.

Method 1: From the playlist

  1. Open Spotify on your phone.
  2. Go to Your Library and open the playlist where Smart Shuffle is on.
  3. At the top, find the Shuffle button (next to Play).
  4. Tap it repeatedly until:
    • The Smart Shuffle “sparkle” style is gone, and
    • Either normal shuffle is active or shuffle is off entirely.

When Smart Shuffle is off, no extra recommended tracks will be injected into that playlist.

Method 2: From Now Playing

  1. Start playing a song from the playlist.
  2. Tap the Now Playing bar at the bottom to open the full player.
  3. Look for the Smart Shuffle / Shuffle icon.
  4. Tap it until the icon is back to either:
    • Normal shuffle (no extra effect), or
    • Fully off (greyed out).

Turn Off Smart Shuffle (Desktop App)

On desktop, Smart Shuffle is tied to the same shuffle button.

  1. Open the Spotify desktop app (Windows or macOS).
  2. Play a song or playlist where Smart Shuffle is active.
  3. At the bottom playback bar, find the Shuffle icon.
  4. Click it until the icon is no longer in the Smart Shuffle state and, if you want, fully greyed out.

When the shuffle icon is grey, neither shuffle nor Smart Shuffle is active; songs play in order.

Completely Remove Smart Shuffle (If Available)

Spotify has been rolling out a new option that lets you essentially “banish” Smart Shuffle from the app, so you only have normal shuffle and non-shuffle.

This setting isn’t available to everyone yet, but it’s worth checking.

On iPhone / Android

  1. Open Spotify.
  2. Tap your profile icon (top left or right, depending on version).
  3. Go to Settings & Privacy.
  1. Tap Playback.
  2. Scroll down and look for:
    • Include Smart Shuffle in Play Modes , or
    • A similar toggle related to Smart Shuffle / play modes.
  1. Turn this off.

When this toggle is off, Smart Shuffle will no longer show as one of the shuffle modes, and you’ll just have regular shuffle.

If Smart Shuffle Keeps Turning On by Itself

Some users have reported that Smart Shuffle seems to turn on randomly or after updates.

Try this if it keeps coming back:

  • Make sure app is updated: Install the latest Spotify version so you get the newest shuffle controls.
  • Turn off the global toggle (if you have it):
    • Settings & Privacy → Playback → Include Smart Shuffle in Play Modes → Off.
  • Manually exit Smart Shuffle on each playlist where it’s active: use the shuffle button until the ✨ effect is gone.

Tiny “Story” Example

Picture this: you’ve built the perfect late-night playlist, hit play, and suddenly Spotify throws in a random new track that completely kills the mood. That’s Smart Shuffle doing its thing. You pop open the Now Playing view, tap the flashy shuffle icon until it looks normal again, and like that, you’re back to only the songs you chose, no surprise guests.

Extra: Why Spotify Keeps Pushing Smart Shuffle

  • Spotify uses Smart Shuffle to boost discovery and keep you hearing new tracks it thinks you’ll like.
  • Many users, though, just want predictable playlists and complain that Smart Shuffle feels “broken” or repetitive.
  • That backlash is a big reason the “Include Smart Shuffle in Play Modes” toggle is being tested as a way to fully disable it.

TL;DR:
To turn off Smart Shuffle in Spotify, tap the shuffle button until the sparkles or special Smart Shuffle effect disappear, or disable Include Smart Shuffle in Play Modes in Settings → Playback if that option exists in your app.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.