Spotify is handing users full control over their algorithmic destiny. During the SXSW conference, co-CEO Gustav Söderström announced a new beta feature that allows listeners to review and manually edit their “Taste Profile”—the core data model that drives nearly every recommendation on the platform.
Taking Control of Your Recommendations
This Taste Profile is the engine behind your Discover Weekly, Made For You mixes, and the viral year-end Spotify Wrapped. Previously, these profiles were largely “black boxes,” leaving users frustrated when their recommendations failed to align with their actual music preferences.
Initially rolling out to Premium subscribers in New Zealand, the feature offers a centralized hub for all listening data, including music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Users can now fine-tune their future recommendations using natural language prompts—simply asking for more or less of a specific “vibe” will immediately adjust the suggestions displayed on the app’s home page.
Why This Fix Matters
For years, Spotify users have struggled with “cluttered” profiles. Shared accounts are the primary culprit; whether it is family members using a smart speaker, a partner controlling the car’s Bluetooth, or children playing music on a parent’s account, these external inputs often skew a user’s data.
Beyond shared access, users frequently play audio that doesn’t reflect their personal taste, such as sleep sounds, ambient noise, or children’s tracks. Historically, Spotify only allowed users to exclude specific tracks or playlists, a cumbersome process that rarely kept up with daily listening habits. This limitation frequently impacted, and in some cases completely ruined, the highly anticipated Spotify Wrapped experience.
Availability
Accessing the new tool is straightforward: users simply tap their profile picture and scroll down to the Taste Profile section. While the beta is currently limited to New Zealand, Spotify plans to expand this functionality to additional global markets in the coming weeks.