Spotify tests letting users directly customize their Taste Profile

Spotify Premium users in New Zealand will be the first to experience the service’s latest personalization feature. The company is letting users view and make changes to their Taste Profile directly. If your algorithm is serving up too much Bieber, you can politely tell the algorithm to ease up. Beta testers will be able to access the feature by tapping on their profile icon and then selecting Taste Profile from the sidebar menu.

The Taste Profile tells you not only what artists you frequently listen to, but also identifies trends in your listening habits. In a little demo clip, Spotify shows an example Taste Profile that includes the line, “you’re also beginning to explore ‘90s alternative rock.”

At the bottom of the screen is a box labeled “Tell us more,” where you can tell Spotify what you want more or less of, including podcasts. Here you can say things like “I would like to listen to more hip hop” or “I’m training for a marathon and want more high-energy tracks,” and Spotify will adjust its recommendations. It’s similar to the company’s chatbot-powered Prompted Playlists.

Spotify is improving things on the non-algorithmic front, too, by adding filters to your Following Feed for podcasts. Now you can see only unplayed episodes, what’s in progress, or even only video podcasts.