Pranay Parab
Credit: Funstock via Shutterstock
One of the most annoying aspects of Spotify's free tier is the ads. Every half hour or so, the service injects a bunch of ads that interrupt your listening. There are two ways to get rid of the ads: either pay for Spotify Premium, or use any of the Spotify ad blockers I've listed in this guide.
Consider Spotify Premium
If you can afford Spotify Premium, consider subscribing. You don't always have to pay full price, either: I previously wrote a guide that helps you find the best Spotify Premium discounts. With Premium, not only does Spotify block ads, but it also adds useful features such as the ability to download songs, view time-synced lyrics, use unlimited song skips, and turn on improved audio quality.
But even though the free tier has its limitations and annoyances, Spotify does let you access interesting features such as podcast transcriptions and Spotify Blend without paying a dime. The only problem is that Spotify can take away any free feature and put it behind a paywall at any point, as it recently did with time-synced lyrics, which used to be available for free.
What Spotify ad blockers can and can't do
A Spotify ad blocker will usually either remove ads from Spotify's free tier or automatically mute the app when ads are playing. An ad blocker will not let you access all of Spotify Premium's features without paying. There are certain modded Spotify clients for Android that will allow you to add in premium features for free, but you're using these tools at your risk. Your account might get banned, or worse, your phone and all the sensitive data in it could be compromised by rogue applications.
How to block Spotify ads in web browsers
Spotify’s web player works pretty well across browsers. If that’s how you use the service, a browser extension can block ads for you. Most people will want to use uBlock Origin to block Spotify ads, but note that it blocks ads on all other websites, too. If you’d rather not block ads across the entire internet, Blockify is the Chrome extension you need. It'll block ads on Spotify alone and nowhere else.
How to hide Spotify ads on PC
There are two ways to block all ads in Spotify’s Windows app without paying for Spotify Premium. Just know that these blockers won’t work with the Microsoft Store version of the Spotify app. You’ll have to download the app directly from Spotify’s website to be able to use them.
BlockTheSpot is among the best ad blockers for Spotify on Windows. Its GitHub page goes through all the install instructions, and the blocker will remove audio, video, and banner ads from Spotify’s app. BlockTheSpot now claims it'll continue to work even if Spotify gets updated, and that it also allows you to access audio in higher quality without paying. This app also lets you hide the Upgrade button, which Spotify uses to urge you to get Premium. You still won't be able to download music if you're using BlockTheSpot, though.
If you’re looking for an alternative to BlockTheSpot, try BurntSushi. The key difference between these two apps is that BlockTheSpot is a modified Spotify client that lets you remove various annoying features, while BurntSushi is an ad blocker that works by intercepting network requests to block Spotify ads. In theory, BurntSushi should be more resilient and continue to work for longer, but both of these apps have been around for years.
How to remove Spotify ads on Mac and Linux
On Mac, you can use BlockTheSpot-Mac to block ads on the app. Install the Spotify app, quit it, and follow the instructions on the GitHub page to install the ad blocker. If you’re using Spotify’s app on Linux, you can try Spotify-adblock—just be sure to check if it’s compatible with your Linux distro before installing it.
For those who are comfortable with command line interfaces, Spicetify is a good alternative.
Mute Spotify ads on Android
On your Android phone, you can easily mute Spotify whenever it plays ads. It's not a perfect ad blocking solution, but silence is far more bearable than annoying ads. To set this up, download Mutify. Once the app is installed, go to Spotify's settings and enable Device Broadcast Status. This will allow Mutify to figure out when ads are playing and mute Spotify. With this, you can enjoy listening to music while Mutify runs in the background and takes care of muting ads for you.
