Outlines the workaround for how to change your Spotify username with steps for iOS, Android and iPhone, plus how to use your Facebook name on Spotify.
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When it comes to streaming music few services have the range, attractiveness and variety that Spotify offers its users. Some users have been using Spotify since it first introduced in 2008, which will evolve with your music tastes over time too. Just as the music industry has changed, so have the listeners.
You may be a little embarrassed by your music listening habits, but don’t — there’s a way to hide your secret Friday night teen pop debauchery by making your public Spotify profile as anonymous as possible. If you want to change your Spotify username, here is what to do.
How to change your Spotify username: the problem
Before you rush to change your Spotify settings to your username, it’s important to understand the limits. You actually can’t change your Spotify username any more, but what you can do is change your display name in the Spotify mobile app, which is then visible in the Spotify public profile.
This change will be applied to your account, which as a whole will update its meaning, the display name will appear on your profile in the Spotify desktop app, in the Spotify web player, and in your public profile that others can view. This would be the name you and others will see when you create a collaborative playlist, for example.
You can’t add a custom display name using the web or desktop interface, but you can use Spotify’s link to your Facebook account as an alternative. This will cause your display name to update, use the name on your Facebook profile.
How to change your Spotify name on Android, iPhone or iPad, and have it change on PC
The next hurdle to overcome when changing your Spotify name is finding the setting. Anyone who searched in the settings of the PC client or the account overview in the browser has searched in vain – even if there is also an option here to edit the profile. The name change currently only works via the app for Android or iOS.
If you change the name in the app, it will be saved globally. This means that after restarting the PC client or the browser, your new name will also be displayed everywhere else.
To manually set the display name for your Spotify profile, you need to do so using the Spotify mobile app. These steps are only relevant for standard Spotify users. If you use the Spotify for Kids app, you can change the display name for kids using the app in the Parental Settings area instead.
These steps are the same for Android, iPhone and iPad users as the Spotify interface is similar across all platforms.
- Open the Spotify app on your mobile device to get started. Tap Home , then tap the Settings – GEAR icon in the top right corner to access your Spotify settings.
- In the Settings menu, tap your name at the top where profile ads are shown in smaller text under your name.
- Your public profile will appear here. Tap the Edit Profile button under your existing display name to change.
- In the profile edit menu you can change the display, name and photo will be visible on your public profile (on all platforms). Make the necessary changes, then tap Save in the top right to confirm.
Once the change is made, you will be returned to your public profile. The update display name is visible here. If you need to change it at any point, repeat the above steps to do so.
Using your Facebook name as a Spotify display name
As we mentioned earlier, it’s not possible to change your Spotify name to display on desktop devices, either through the Spotify desktop app or website. What you can do, however, is link your Facebook account with Spotify through the desktop app, which will update your profile’s display name to match your Facebook name.
This process should be the same on both Windows and Mac platforms.
- Link to Facebook to your Spotify account, open the desktop app and tap the Home tab in the left menu. From here, click on your name (display name or username) in the top right and click Settings from the drop down menu.
- In the Settings section, click the Connect to Facebook button under the Facebook section.
- You need to sign in to your Facebook account in the pop-up window. Provide your Facebook username and password, then click Sign In to continue.
- Facebook will ask you to confirm that you would like to link your Spotify account to your Facebook profile. This includes information released from your Facebook profile (including your name and date of birth). Click the Next How button to confirm are you happy with the information that will be shared, or tap to edit this first to select what information you want to share.
- If you choose to edit the details together with Spotify, click the slider next to the information listed to deselect your selection, then click Next As To Go.
Your Facebook information, including your names and pictures, should now be visible in your Spotify profile, replacing your pre-existing display names. You can use this connection at a later time if you have to.
- From Spotify’s Facebook (and remove your Facebook name from your Spotify profile) click Home in the Spotify desktop app. Click your name in the top right then click Settings . Under the Facebook section, click the Disconnect from Facebook button.
The connection between Spotify and Facebook is broken here, but you may need to access your Facebook privacy settings in order to completely remove all connections between Spotify and Facebook. By removing the link, your display name should go back to the name you previously set yourself (or from Spotify automatically).
If you don’t remove the Spotify Facebook connection in your Facebook privacy settings you should be able to re-establish that connection by pressing the Connect From Facebook button again — your display name should be updated immediately.
Create a new Spotify account
- You will need a new email address to create your new account. The old email address is linked to your existing account and cannot be used again for the creation. The alternative is to delete your account completely. You can then use your e-mail address to re-register as normal.
- If you created your Spotify account with your Facebook account, you don’t even have a username. Then the only personal identifier is a random sequence of numbers. This number sequence can no longer be changed afterwards without creating a new account.
- When deleting your account, you should pay attention to current subscriptions. If you only use Spotify Free anyway, you can in principle easily delete your account and create a new one. However, if you are a premium user, your benefits immediately disappear when you delete your account.
