How to Use the Spotify Web Player for Maximum Performance

Spotify is a popular place for accessing digital music video streaming and podcast services. Users have access to a variety of different contact categories including millions of songs within their venue. Content from around the world is found through Spotify.

If you're new to it, then this handy overview of how to use the Spotify web player for the best performance will show you how to start using it and enjoying the service hassle free and right away. The basic functions will let you access the content you're interested in and it's totally free to play music.

They also offer an upgraded version in their premium package. Whichever you choose, you can browse and search to find the content you're looking for and you can build music collections of your favorites. You can even see what your friends are listening to or create your own radio stations, but how dod you use the Spotify web player? Here's how.

Spotify Web Player

The Spotify Web Player allows you to play content from your browser. It allows you to access the whole Spotify catalog. You may browse through featured sections such as genres, moods or new releases or access and edit your music playlists, artists, albums, or songs and even view artist pages.

Supported Browsers

The Spotify Web player is supported by several different web browsers. To use the player effectively for maximum performance, it is best to use either Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Opera. Attempting to use a browser that is not on this list may not work because it might not be compatible with the Spotify web player.

What if the web player doesn't work?

If the Spotify web player either doesn't work or doesn't work properly on one of the recommended web browsers, then it's likely that the web browser that you're attempting to use needs to be updated. Updating a web browser isn't as daunting or as difficult as it may sound. Once you've done it, you'll see how easy it really is.

How to update your web browser

All you need to do to update your web browser is to go to the help section of the menu. This will walk you through the process of checking to see if your browser needs to be updated. What this tool will do is find any available updates. It will then let you know if there are any available.

If so, it's simple to click on the prompt that asks you if you want to download the updates. After acknowledging that you want to download the updates, some systems will download and install them automatically. If this doesn't happen, you'll be asked if you want to install the updates.

Click yes and they will automatically install on your computer or device. In some cases, a restart is required. If this doesn't work, there are a few more things that you can do.

Troubleshooting

After you've established that your browser is completely updated and the updates have been installed, if the web player still isn't operating properly, there are a few more things you can do. Try to open the web player in an incognito/private window. You'll find this option in the menu section of your web browser.

In Google Chrome, it's located in the upper right corner of the open page. In some instances, you will get an error message that reads “Playback of protected content is not enabled.” If you get this message you may need to enable the web player.

Other steps to take

Try restarting the Spotify application. Log out then log back in. Make sure that the app is up to date. It can be helpful to close all other apps on your device that are not in use. If this doesn't work, try uninstalling the Spotify app and then reinstalling it. Bear in mind that if you have any music downloaded you'll have to download it all again.

One more thing to try is to attempt to use the web player on a different device. There are system requirements of a minimum of 250 MB of available memory. If your device is too full, this could cause issues with the web player functioning properly. These are the steps that are most commonly used to resolve any issues that may occur with Spotify's web player.

Additional FAQs about the Spotify Web Player

1. What if my browser doesn't support Spotify Web Player?

Opera, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome will all support the Spotify Web Player. In order to run SWP, you will need to download or open one of these browser options. Unfortunately, Safari does not, so you will need to have an alternate in place.

2. Can I use SWP on my phone or Tablet?

Yes, Spotify works across platforms. You can use traditional computers like laptops and desktops, or any other device capable of accessing the internet with a compatible browser, which includes phones and tablets.

3. How do I enable Spotify web player in Chrome?

Launch Chrome and go to the Spotify Web Player page. If it says "Playback of protected content is not enabled“ then open a second window. Paste the following address ( chrome://settings/content ) and hit enter. Scroll down the menu to Protected Content. Click to enable then simply close out the window and refresh the Spotify page. This should resolve any basic issue with enabling SWP in Chrome.

4. What if I have trouble with the web player on my phone or tablet?

Try using the desktop app instead.

5. How do I download Spotify Web Player?

You can find it on www.spotify.com/download. If the download doesn't start in a few seconds check your download folder and manually click on it.

6. What if Spotify isn't loading?

First, make sure you have the right browser. If necessary you can run an update for your browser. If this isn't enough you can remove the browser cache files. This means clearing cookies, browser history, and temp files. Sometimes a cached error is to blame and doing this should remove the problem.

Sometimes an antivirus or firewall setting is to blame. Check your settings to make certain you haven't blocked the program. Lastly, you can try checking your internet connection and any plugs on your desktop. It may seem silly, but service interruptions can happen and if the internet is off or disconnected you can't load pages.

7. Can I listen offline?

Yes, you can. The menu has a button that says "Edit Offline Playlists," clicking on this will allow you to make offline lists to listen to. Whether your internet is on or not, you should have easy access to these lists.

8. Can you listen to Spotify without an account?

No. It is possible to listen without downloading the software, but you do need an account. You can sign up and use the play.spotify.com web version without using up your memory or installing anything, but you have to log in to do so.

9. How do you see what friends are listening to on Spotify?

Once you've followed someone you can see what they're listening to one of three ways. First, by checking FB as long as they haven't changed the public pre-set. Second, you can check the Activity panel to see any recent activity. Lastly, you can manually look them up. Choose Profile on the dropdown menu and from there you can locate the "Following" tab. Select their name and you will be able to see all their public playlists along with a brief list of their recent listening selections.

10. How do I follow someone?

You need to know someone's user name in order to follow them. Use the search bar in the top left corner to find them using the format spotify:user:name to locate the person's account. Unless they lied or you typed it in wrong, their profile should appear with a "Follow" button right below the name.

11. What's the best album converter for Spotify (Windows/Mac)?

"Best," is a subjective term in this case, but DRmare gets good reviews. If all else fails, using a converter like this should convert your files.

12. Does Spotify use a lot of my data?

If you have a premium membership and plan to stream then you're looking at about 43.2MB per hour. That can certainly add up if you're using a limited data phone instead of a desktop or laptop.

13. How does Spotify Web Player make money?

If you have a free Spotify account then anytime you click an add it helps keep them in business. Ad revenue is big business, especially for a platform that has over 150 million active users. Spotify also has a paid subscription service that offers more comprehensive listening and features.

14. Can anyone see what I listened to?

This is entirely up to you. You can make whole playlists secret. The Social tab has several options for hiding your listening habits in various ways. What you choose to use is a personal decision, but you can always make sure no one sees what you're listening to.

15. Can artists see who listens to them on Spotify?

Spotify launched a platform for artists to track their own metrics in 2017. So the answer is yes and no. If the artist subscribes to Spotify's Artist Dashboard, they can see who's listening. Otherwise no, they can't just log in and ask.

16. Can I tell when people view my Spotify?

When someone follows your playlist you'll be notified. Otherwise, no, you can't just see anyone who drops in and glances at your playlists. Likewise, you have to actually follow a playlist for someone else to know you've seen it.

17. What does Private Session do?

Private Session (available on your desktop dropdown menu) makes your listening habits private while it is enabled. You need to do this each time you turn on Spotify as the pre-set is designed for public social music sharing.

18. Does Spotify share information on my listening habits?

Until you change your preferences, anything you listen to on Spotify can be posted to FB.

19. Can my Facebook friends see what I listen to on Spotify?

Yes, they can. Spotify's default preferences are set to public. You can change this in your settings menu at any time. You can also limit who sees your FB posts in the FB settings menu. Anyone who follows you on FB or Spotify can see what you've been listening to unless you specifically block them from doing so.

20. Does Facebook own Spotify?

No, Spotify is owned by a Swedish company (Spotify AB). The two companies do work closely together, but no merger has yet occurred.