Spotify Wrapped usually starts counting your listening from January 1 of that year and stops sometime in November, a few weeks before Wrapped goes live.

When they start counting

  • Spotify counts streams for Wrapped from midnight on January 1 each year, so anything you play from the very start of the year can go into that year’s recap.
  • A “counted” stream generally has to play for at least 30 seconds to register toward your stats.

When they stop counting

  • Spotify does not stop on October 31, even though that rumor is common in forums and on social media.
  • Official comments indicate listening is tracked into November , with data collection ending a few weeks before Wrapped is released so they have time to generate everyone’s stories.

What about December?

  • Plays in December don’t count toward the current year’s Wrapped and also don’t roll into the next year’s recap.
  • This gap lets people binge holiday music or end‑of‑year playlists without changing the stats they just saw in their Wrapped.

Quick extra details

  • Private sessions are generally excluded from Wrapped stats, while offline plays are added once your device reconnects.
  • All devices linked to your account contribute, as long as the play meets the minimum time and isn’t in a private session.

TL;DR: For “when do they start counting Spotify Wrapped?”—they start on January 1, keep going through most of the year into November, and skip December for that year’s recap.