Spotify has implemented some unconventional user-experience decisions that can often lead to confusion. The application’s design is disorganized, featuring multiple panels, and it consistently monitors user activities. Additionally, there seems to be an unwillingness to allow full album playback. These aspects create an impression that Spotify’s creators are directing users to engage with the platform in certain predetermined ways.

Users have voiced their displeasure regarding the inclusion of music videos on Spotify, especially since they automatically start playing in the background when an artist uploads one. Some music videos feature different audio tracks compared to the album versions, which may be distracting. The automatic playback of these videos consumes both bandwidth and battery life, leading to frustration among many users.

The desktop version of Spotify shows videos in a compact album art panel, and enlarging them can be troublesome. The selection of videos on the platform often appears arbitrary, causing some users to turn to YouTube for music video content instead.

Until recently, there wasn’t an easy way to turn off videos on Spotify, but that has changed. A toggle has been introduced in the settings that allows users to disable music videos, as well as features for Canvas and video podcasts. On mobile devices, users can access this by clicking on their profile icon, then choosing “Settings and privacy” and selecting “Content and display.”

In the “Videos and Canvas” section, there are three toggles available: one for music videos, one for Canvas, and one for all other videos, including podcasts. Disabling these options helps decrease bandwidth usage on Spotify.

For the desktop app, users can find these settings by clicking their profile icon, selecting “Settings,” and scrolling to the “Videos and Canvas” section. Tests have confirmed that turning off these settings removes the music video icon from playlists and albums, although a “Switch to video” button remains, which encourages users to reactivate videos if pressed.

Many hope that Spotify will handle music videos more judiciously. Having video playlists distinct from audio-only playlists would be beneficial, ensuring users do not encounter videos when searching for album versions. There is optimism that upcoming updates to the Spotify interface will provide clearer distinctions between various features.