Spotify is far from the only ad-supported streaming service. However, this company goes the extra mile to make its ads as obnoxious as possible in the hopes that you’ll upgrade to a premium plan. For instance, we’ve heard ads that start with extremely loud seagull noises, pneumatic drilling, and people shouting or singing out of key.
Maybe you’re not quite sure that Spotify Premium is right for you. Perhaps you just resent being annoyed into paying for it. Either way, we’re here to help. There are several ways to stop Spotify ads, and most work on multiple platforms including PC, Android, and iPhone. Read on to find out how you can block Spotify ads once and for all.
How to automatically block ads on Spotify
The quickest and easiest way to block Spotify ads is to use a tool designed for this exact purpose. Just follow the steps below to stop hearing ads on any of your devices:
- Sign up for a reputable ad-blocker. We recommend Total AdBlock: it works with a ton of services including Spotify and is currently available for up to 80 percent off.
- Download and install the app, login, and click the power button on the main screen to start blocking ads.
- Open up Spotify and start playing music. Normally, you’d hear ads after every few songs, but with an ad-blocking active, these should be skipped entirely.
- Having problems? In that case, get in touch with your ad-blockers support team and explain the issue. Total Adblock offers 24/7 assistance via live chat, making it quick and easy to get help.
BEST SPOTIFY AD-BLOCKER:Total Adblock is simple, reliable, and capable of blocking Spotify ads on iPhone, Android, and PC. It even offers a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose by trying it out.
Other ways to prevent Spotify from playing ads
Don’t want to use an ad-blocker? No problem: we have several other options for you to try.
Upgrade to Spotify Premium
The most obvious solution is to simply get Spotify Premium. This will prevent most ads, no matter whether you’re listening on a mobile device or PC. You’ll also be able to skip tracks as often as you want, disable the shuffle feature, and download songs for offline playback.
If you’re going this route, we’d recommend getting the Family Plan and splitting the cost with a few friends. At $16.99 USD per month, this works out significantly cheaper than signing up on your own ($10.99 per month). In any case, your first month is free.
Use a VPN with built-in ad-blocking
Instead of installing a standalone ad-blocker, you could try out a VPN that has one built-in. NordVPN is our top pick, but Surfshark is a fantastic low-cost alternative. These services are available for every major operating system including Linux and offer around-the-clock support via live chat.
In addition to stopping Spotify ads in their tracks, they’ll hide your online activities from anyone who might be watching, lower the chance of your ISP throttling your connection, and let you access music that’s normally only available in certain regions.
Try out a muting app
There are several apps designed to reduce your device’s volume to zero whenever Spotify plays an ad. After all, 30 seconds of silence is preferable to hearing the same commercial multiple times per day.
You’ll have to be careful with these apps, though. They may request more permissions than are strictly necessary, and there’s no easy way to tell if they’re doing anything more nefarious in the background.
A safer alternative is to create your own script. Luckily, other frustrated Spotify users have done the hard part for you. A quick search on Reddit or GitHub will reveal simple muting scripts for Tasker and AutoHotkey – these are short, relatively easy to understand, and open-source so you can see exactly what they do. Still, installing the required software and making sure your script works takes time, so most people would be better served by one of the options above.
Blocking Spotify ads: Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I block Spotify’s ads?
There are all kinds of reasons why you might not want to hear Spotify ads. Here are just a few:
- You listen to Spotify at work and don’t want your coworkers to know what you’re being recommended
- You’re trying to fall asleep while listening to a podcast or quiet playlist
- Spotify is playing more ads than it should be (a common issue, according to the official forum)
- You plan on using Spotify to play music at a party, wedding, or other event
- You’d like to focus and don’t want to be pulled out of the zone by loud ads
Why does Spotify have so many ads?
Spotify knows that its ads are annoying. It also knows that its service is good enough that people will keep using it anyway. In other words, the company gets to have its cake and eat it too. You can either hear an increasing number of irritating ads (each of which earns Spotify money) or sign up for a Premium plan, which is even better for the platform’s balance sheet.Spotify knows that its ads are annoying. It also knows that its service is good enough that people will keep using it anyway. In other words, the company gets to have its cake and eat it too. You can either hear an increasing number of irritating ads (each of which earns Spotify money) or sign up for a Premium plan, which is even better for the platform’s balance sheet.
Why am I hearing ads on Spotify Premium?
Spotify promises that Premium users won’t have their music interrupted by ads. However, it allows podcast creators to insert dynamic ads into their content, and conveniently, these can’t be skipped, even if you pay for the service. You can manually fast forward past them, but this isn’t precise or convenient.
You may also hear the podcast hosts read out ads themselves. These can’t be blocked or muted for the simple reason that they’re actually part of the original content, rather than a separate audio file injected into it.
Will Spotify ban me for blocking ads?
Spotify’s terms of use expressly forbid “circumventing or blocking advertisements” and make it clear that your account could be terminated or suspended if you’re caught. However, if the service banned everyone who had some form of ad-blocker on their browser, it’d very quickly find itself without many users.
Instead, the company seems to be more focused on people who download modified versions of the Spotify app. Some of these effectively offer a Premium-like service for free, so it’s to be expected that the company would be interested in shutting these down.
Is Spotify Premium worth it?
That really depends on how you use the service. If you don’t mind listening on shuffle and hearing ads, the free plan might be enough. However, there are plenty of benefits to becoming a Premium member. For instance, paid plans include:
- The ability to skip songs as many times as you like
- Ad-free music
- The option to download songs and playlists for offline playback
- Higher music quality
- Listening party functionality
- Playlists tailored to your tastes
- 15 hours of free audiobook playback each month
- An AI-powered DJ
- The power to use your account abroad indefinitely (free users are prevented from listening after two weeks)
