Spotify has introduced a beta feature called Taste Profile, which is beginning to roll out to Premium listeners in New Zealand.

The tool lets users review and adjust how Spotify interprets their listening preferences and how those preferences shape what appears on the app’s homepage.

User input

Announced by Co-CEO Gustav Söderström, the feature is intended to give listeners more direct input into the recommendation systems that shape their experience across music, podcasts and audiobooks.

Taste Profile shows users how Spotify reads their interests, including preferred artists, genres and listening habits. Listeners may see signals such as an interest in 1990s alternative rock or a tendency towards hip-hop with specific influences.

If those signals seem inaccurate, users can flag them and ask for more or less of a certain style or mood. That feedback will help determine what content is prioritised, reduced or surfaced next on the homepage.

The feature is also meant to reflect more immediate interests and routines, rather than only long-term listening history. That could include someone seeking more upbeat tracks for morning workouts or news podcasts for weekday commutes.

Wider push

Spotify presented the move as part of a broader effort to make its recommendation systems more visible and adjustable. The company said more than 80% of listeners identify personalisation as the aspect they value most on the platform.

Taste Profile arrives alongside another beta product, Prompted Playlist, which lets users guide playlist creation with prompts tied to listening history or current mood. Together, the releases point to a strategy of giving subscribers more explicit ways to steer automated recommendations.

For Spotify, the launch touches on a central issue for streaming platforms that rely heavily on recommendation engines to retain listeners and increase engagement. Greater user control could help address concerns that algorithmic curation can feel opaque or out of step with changing tastes.

The initial rollout is limited to Premium users in one market, suggesting Spotify is testing uptake and behaviour before any wider release. Users can actively shape their Taste Profile or leave it untouched and continue using Spotify as usual.

“This is the next step in our vision to make personalization more transparent, responsive, and truly yours,” said Gustav Söderström, Co-CEO, Spotify.