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How to Stop Spotify From Opening on Startup on Windows and Mac

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To stop Spotify launching when you sign in, open Spotify, select your profile picture, choose Settings, scroll to Startup and window behaviour, and set Open Spotify as soon as you log into the computer to No. If it still opens, disable Spotify in Windows startup apps or remove it from macOS Login Items; the operating system may have its own startup entry or restore the previous session.

Turn off Spotify’s startup setting

  1. Open the Spotify desktop app.
  2. Select your profile picture, then choose Settings.
  3. Scroll to Startup and window behaviour.
  4. Set Open Spotify as soon as you log into the computer to No.

This is Spotify’s current support-community path; labels can vary slightly between app versions. Older instructions may refer to Edit, Preferences, or Show advanced settings, which reflect older interfaces rather than the current general path. See Spotify’s desktop startup instructions.

Stop Spotify from opening on Windows 10 or 11

If Spotify’s own setting is already No, or the app continues to launch after sign-in, check Windows’ startup list. Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer these controls:

Use Windows Settings

  1. Open Start and select Settings.
  2. Go to Apps > Startup.
  3. Find Spotify and switch it Off.

Use Task Manager

  1. Right-click the Start button and select Task Manager.
  2. Open Startup apps.
  3. Select Spotify and choose Disable.

Windows Settings and Task Manager are alternative ways to manage startup apps. Task Manager may also show startup-impact information. Microsoft documents both paths, along with other startup locations, in its Windows startup-app guidance.

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Check the Startup folders

If Spotify is absent from both startup lists, a shortcut in a Startup folder could launch it:

  1. Press Windows + R, enter shell:startup, and press Enter to open your user’s Startup folder.
  2. If there is a Spotify shortcut, remove it.
  3. To inspect the folder used for all users, press Windows + R, enter shell:common startup, and press Enter. Remove a Spotify shortcut there if present.

Do not edit the Windows registry as a routine fix. Microsoft lists registry locations for startup items but warns that registry changes can have unintended consequences.

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Stop Spotify from opening on a Mac

First turn off Spotify’s in-app startup option using the steps above. Then remove a macOS login entry if one exists:

  1. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Select General > Login Items & Extensions.
  3. Under Open at Login, select Spotify and click the remove button.

Apple’s Login Items & Extensions settings distinguish apps opened at login from App Background Activity. Removing Spotify from Open at Login addresses normal app launching; changing background activity is a separate choice, not a required step to stop the window from opening.

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If macOS restores Spotify from your previous session

If Spotify is not listed under Open at Login but reappears after restarting or logging in, macOS may be restoring apps and windows from the last session. When you restart, shut down, or log out, clear Reopen windows when logging back in in the confirmation dialog. Apple also documents Close windows when quitting an application under System Settings > Desktop & Dock as a way to prevent windows from being restored when an app is reopened. These session-restoration controls are separate from Spotify’s startup preference; see Apple’s guidance on reopening apps and windows after login.

Diagnose what “Spotify opens” means

Startup launch is only one possible explanation. Match the symptom to the mechanism before changing unrelated settings:

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  • The app appears right after computer sign-in: check Spotify’s startup option, then the Windows startup list or macOS Open at Login.
  • Spotify appears after a restart but was not listed as a startup app: check session restoration, particularly the Mac’s Reopen windows when logging back in option.
  • A Spotify link opens the desktop app: that is link handling, not necessarily startup. Older Spotify Community guidance mentions an Allow Spotify to be opened from the web setting, but its availability in current app versions is not established. If your version offers it, disabling it may stop links from opening the app, but Spotify links may no longer launch the desktop app directly. See the older Spotify Community discussion.
  • Music plays but no window is visible: Spotify may be running in the background, playback may have been started by a device or media control, or the app may have been restored. That does not by itself show that the login-startup setting failed.

On Windows, Spotify can be installed through different distribution channels, so its registration or displayed name may differ. Check both Spotify’s setting and Windows’ startup interfaces rather than relying on a particular executable path. If the issue persists on Windows, Spotify Community troubleshooting also points users to check the operating system’s startup settings.

If the behavior returns after a Spotify update, check both the app preference and operating-system startup controls again. On a Mac, Apple notes that apps can sometimes reopen because of other software they installed, even when they are not conventional login items. If troubleshooting other login items, avoid removing them all without a plan: Apple recommends recording the list and adding items back one at a time when investigating startup problems; see its login-item troubleshooting guidance. Reinstalling Spotify is a later option, after these startup and session checks.

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Autoplay is not the startup setting

Spotify’s Autoplay control governs whether similar music continues after an album, playlist, or selection ends. It does not control whether the desktop app launches at computer login. Changing Autoplay will not stop Spotify from opening; Spotify explains the playback setting in its Autoplay help article.

Do these steps apply to phones?

No. These instructions cover Spotify on Windows and macOS computers, where startup and login-item controls govern what opens after sign-in. A phone restarting is a different behavior; the desktop paths above do not apply to Android or iPhone.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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