Spotify Free Users Are No Longer Restricted to Shuffle Playback

Spotify is making its free offering much better today by dropping the Shuffle playback restriction on mobile. Free users can now search and play any song they want, and also play tracks they’ve received from friends or saw on the Internet.

“Whether you’ve previously tried Spotify or you’re a long-time streamer with our free experience, there’s a lot to love about these enhancements,” the Spotify team said today. You now have more control over how you listen: Search and play any track or jump right into something your friend just shared. Our goal is to help you get the most out of your music. We’re continuing to invest in making Spotify the best place for fans and creators to meet—no matter how they listen.”

To be clear, Spotify Free users on the desktop could already play any track they wanted; the streaming service only forced mobile users into Shuffle mode. The search experience for Free users also made it not easy to see the full list of songs on albums, and this seemed like an arbitrary restriction.

Going forward, Spotify will continue to restrict some features, such as AI Playlist, Mix, and the new lossless quality to Premium users. The new DM system and the automated “daily” playlist are available for free users, however.

Overall, Spotify Free is now a better alternative to the ad-supported experience on YouTube and YouTube Music. If you pay for Spotify Premium, let us know in the comments if you’re considering switching to the free version now that the Shuffle restriction is gone on mobile.