Your Complete Spotify Streaming History, exported

Spotify keeps a record of everything you have ever streamed, but it does not show it to you inside the app. To get at it, you have to request a data export through your account privacy settings. There are two tiers to know about before you start.

What is the difference between the two export types?

Spotify offers two separate data downloads, and the distinction matters.

• Account data - covers roughly the last 12 months of streaming history. It arrives faster, usually within a few days, and is fine if you only care about recent listening.
• Extended streaming history - covers your account's full lifetime history from day one. This is the one most people actually want. It is a separate request, takes longer to process, and can take up to about a month to land in your inbox. It comes as a set of JSON files, not a live or searchable view inside Spotify.

Neither option gives you a searchable, ongoing feed. They are one-off snapshots of your history up to the moment you requested them. For context on why Spotify surfaces so little history inside the app itself, see why Spotify only shows 50 recently played tracks.

How do you request the extended streaming history?

The steps are the same for both export types. For the extended history, make sure you choose the right option in step 4.

1. Go to your account privacy settings. You will need to be signed in to your Spotify account in a browser.
2. Scroll down to the section labelled Download your data.
3. You will see two options: Account data and Extended streaming history. Tick the box next to Extended streaming history.
4. Click Request data. Spotify will send a confirmation email to the address on your account.
5. Open that email and confirm the request. Without this confirmation step the export will not start.
6. Wait. Spotify's own page says the extended history can take up to 30 days. In practice it often arrives sooner, but do not count on it being quick.
7. When the files are ready, Spotify will email you a download link. Click it while you are signed in - the link is tied to your account.
8. Download and unzip the archive. Inside you will find a series of JSON files named something like StreamingHistory_music_0.json, StreamingHistory_music_1.json, and so on.

What is actually inside the JSON files?

Each JSON file contains an array of play events. Each entry records the timestamp, the track name, the artist, the album, how many milliseconds you listened, and whether you skipped. The files are plain text and can be opened in any text editor, though they are easier to browse in a JSON viewer or imported into a spreadsheet tool.

A few things to know about the data:

• Plays under about 30 seconds may not appear, or may show a very low millisecond count.
• Podcast episodes are in separate files from music.
• The JSON does not include album art, audio features, or playlist information - just the raw play log.
• There is no built-in way to search or filter it without writing code or using a third-party tool.

What can you not do with the export?

The export is a static archive. Once it arrives, it is already out of date. It does not update, it does not sync back to Spotify, and there is no way to get a fresh copy without submitting another request and waiting again. It is useful for looking back at years of listening history, but it is the wrong tool if you want to know what you played this morning or last Tuesday.

What is the alternative for ongoing listening history?

Echo takes a different approach. Rather than waiting for a monthly export, Echo records your Spotify plays on your Mac in real time as you listen, building a fully searchable, on-device history with no cap. Everything stays on your machine - no account, no cloud, no waiting. Press ⌘⇧E to bring up your history and resume any track at the exact point you left it.

The Spotify data export is genuinely useful for understanding your all-time listening habits. For day-to-day 'what did I just play' questions, a local history tool is the more practical answer.