Remember the early days of the internet? Were all your usernames around animals, sports, or your most embarrassing nickname back then? Thankfully, the internet has long since transcended that era, but one platform may still be behind the times: Spotify. If you've had a Spotify account since high school, chances are your username reflects that. But is there a way to bring your account name into this decade, or will you have to use an outdated account forever? Here's the scoop on how to change your Spotify username, and spoiler alert: this might not be the answer you're looking for.
While you may care more about which songs will hit No. 1 on your Spotify Wrapped than changing your username, it's still nice to not be reminded of your past every time someone asks to follow you. After all, every time your name pops up in the Friends Activity section, you want your crush to focus on your amazing music taste and not your embarrassing username, inspired by your best The nickname your friends gave you in seventh grade. Just because your playlist is filled with retros doesn't mean your username has to be from the past, right? Unfortunately, that's not how it works, because once you set up your Spotify username, you can't change it. But don't lose hope just yet, because there may be a solution.
Can you change your username on Spotify?
Spotify's support page details whether you can easily change your username. According to the site, your username "is designed to identify you on Spotify, so you can't change it." So unless you're willing to delete your account and start over, you'll appear to be stuck with the last embarrassing user name, until the end.
Before you hit the delete button, there's a way to remove your username from your profile without actually changing it. To hide your username from friends and followers, all you have to do is change your account's display name, which will replace the username that appears on your profile, apps, and playlists. Hey, at least there's something.
How to change your display name on Spotify
If you're ready to rename your Spotify account, you can follow these steps to change your display name on your mobile device or tablet:
- Open the Spotify app.
- Click on the house-shaped home icon.
- Click the gear-shaped settings icon in the upper right corner.
- Click "View Profile".
- Click "Edit Profile."
- In the line below your profile picture, enter your display name.
- Click the "Save" button in the upper right corner.
Your display name can be up to 30 characters long, but the app recommends changing it to reflect your name or nickname.
To change the display name on your desktop, you need to:
- Open the Spotify web player.
- Click the down arrow next to your username.
- Select "Profile".
- Click on your profile name.
- Enter your display name.
- Click Save.
It's unclear if there's a limit on how often you can change your display name, so it's best to choose one that won't go out of style (like, you know, your real name).
Although you can't completely remove an embarrassing username from your account (or your memory), changing your display name on Spotify is a pretty solid option.
