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 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've previously written a guide to help you find the best Spotify Premium discounts. With Premium, Spotify not only blocks ads but also adds useful features like downloading songs, viewing time-synced lyrics, using unlimited song skips, and turning on improved audio quality.
But while the free tier has its limitations and annoyances, Spotify does give you access to interesting features like podcast transcription and Spotify Blend without paying a dime. The only problem is that Spotify can take away any free feature at any time and put it behind a paywall, as it recently did with time-synced lyrics that it offered for free in the past.
What a Spotify Ad Blocker Can and Can't Do
Spotify ad blockers typically remove ads from Spotify's free tier or automatically mute the app when ads are playing. Ad blockers won't let you access all the features of Spotify Premium without paying. Some Spotify clients for Android have been modified to let you add advanced features for free, but use these tools at your own risk. Your account could get banned, or worse, your phone and all the sensitive data on it could be compromised by a rogue app.
How to block Spotify ads in your web browser
Spotify's web player works well across different 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 be aware that it blocks ads on all other websites as well. If you don't want to block ads across the internet, Blockify is the Chrome extension you need. It only blocks ads on Spotify, not elsewhere.
How to hide Spotify ads on PC
There are two ways to block all ads in the Spotify Windows app without paying for Spotify Premium. Please note that these blockers do not work with the Microsoft Store version of the Spotify app. You must download the app directly from the Spotify website to use them.
BlockTheSpot is one of the best ad blockers for Spotify on Windows. Its GitHub page contains all installation instructions, and the blocker will remove audio, video, and banner ads from the Spotify app. BlockTheSpot now claims that it will continue to work even if Spotify updates, and it will also allow you to access higher quality audio without paying. The app also lets you hide the "Upgrade" button, which Spotify uses to urge you to get the premium version. However, if you use BlockTheSpot, you still can't download music.
If you're looking for an alternative to BlockTheSpot, try BurntSushi. The main difference between these two apps is that BlockTheSpot is a modified Spotify client that allows you to remove various annoying features, while BurntSushi is an ad blocker that blocks Spotify ads by intercepting network requests. In theory, BurntSushi should be more resilient and keep working longer, but both 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 apps. Install the Spotify app, quit it, and follow the instructions on the GitHub page to install an ad blocker. If you're using Spotify's app on Linux, you can try Spotify-adblock - just make sure to check if it's compatible with your Linux distribution before installing.
Spisetify is a good choice for those familiar with command line interfaces.
Mute Spotify ads on Android
On Android phones, you can easily mute Spotify ads when they play. It's not a perfect ad blocking solution, but silence is easier to live with than annoying ads. To set this up, download Mutify. After installing the app, go to Spotify's settings and enable Device Broadcast Status . This will allow Mutify to determine when an ad is playing and mute Spotify. With this, you can enjoy listening to music while Mutify runs in the background and handles mute ads for you.
