Listening to music on your iPhone is easy with Apple Music. As you stream songs, albums, and playlists, you may wonder if there is a way to view your full listening history. Here is what you need to know about accessing your Apple Music history on iPhone.
Does Apple Music keep history?
Yes, Apple Music does keep a history of everything you listen to in the app. This includes any song, album, playlist, music video, or radio station. Your full listening activity is recorded and saved in your account.
Where can you view Apple Music history?
You can view your Apple Music listening history right in the Music app on iPhone. To see it:
- Open the Music app
- Tap on the Library tab at the bottom
- Scroll down and tap on History
This will show your recently played tracks, albums, playlists, music videos, and radio stations. Your full Apple Music streaming history is available here.
How far back does Apple Music history go?
Your Apple Music history goes back for the last 3 months. So at any point, you can look back at everything you listened to in the Music app over the past 90 days.
History is continuously updated, so each day the oldest listening activity drops off as new songs are added.
Can you clear Apple Music history?
There is no setting to manually clear or delete your Apple Music listening history on iPhone. It will automatically be removed as it ages beyond 3 months.
The only way to immediately clear your history is to go into Settings > Music > Reset Play History. But this will completely reset everything and remove all of your activity.
Does Apple Music listening activity affect recommendations?
Yes, Apple Music uses your listening history to refine recommendations and tailor playlists for your taste. The For You and Browse tabs will be influenced by the artists, songs, genres, and playlists you frequently stream.
So if you listen to a certain style of music often, Apple Music will learn from your history and suggest more content you may like.
Can you view Apple Music history on other devices?
Your Apple Music history is synced across devices logged into your Apple ID. So you can view the same recently played content on any iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, or Apple TV you use.
Just open the Music app and go to History. Or check account.apple.com and view your media library – your streaming history will be listed there.
Does Apple Music history work with Family Sharing?
If you share an Apple Music Family plan, your listening history is still private and tied only to your personal account. Other family members cannot see what you have played.
Viewing history will only show your own recently streamed content, not anyone else’s in the family group.
Can you export Apple Music history?
There is no direct way to export your full Apple Music streaming history from the Music app. However, you can view your playback analytics and download listening data by following these steps:
- Go to privacy.apple.com and sign in
- Go to “Apple Media Services History”
- Click on “Apple Music” then “Get Activity”
- Select CSV or JSON format
- Download data over the past 1-24 months
This will let you export your Apple Music stats and history to view or analyze outside of the app.
Does listening history use cellular data?
Streaming songs and having your history updated does use cellular data if you are not on WiFi. To help manage data usage:
- Enable Low Data Mode in Music settings – this disables automatic downloads
- Download content over WiFi to listen when offline
- Set cellular data limits for Music under Settings > Cellular
Is Apple Music history privacy secure?
Apple takes privacy very seriously. Your Apple Music listening activity is securely tied only to your personal account and cannot be accessed by anyone else.
You are in full control of your history data. At any time you can view, export, reset, or temporarily disable sharing of your playback analytics.
Conclusion
Viewing your Apple Music streaming history is easy in the Music app or account settings online. Your full listening activity over the past 3 months is readily accessible and helps improve recommendations.
History is private, can be exported, and gives you insight into your favorite artists, songs, albums, and playlists from the past quarter. Make sure to check it out to rediscover music or see what you’ve been playing on repeat.
With Apple Music continually improving and expanding each month, your history provides a fun way to explore and reflect on the music that has soundtracked your life.
So next time you want to jog your memory or create the perfect throwback playlist, just open up your Apple Music history.
Other questions related to viewing Apple Music history on iPhone
Can you recover deleted songs from Apple Music purchase history?
If you accidentally delete a purchased song or album from your Apple Music library, there are a few ways you may be able to recover it:
- Check your Recently Deleted playlist – items stay there for 40 days before being permanently removed
- Go to account.apple.com/purchases to redownload purchases from your order history
- Restore the song/album from a previous iPhone backup or iCloud Music Library if enabled
- Contact Apple Support to see if they can help restore deleted content in some cases
As long as the song was previously purchased and not just part of Apple Music streaming, you have options to get it back. Refer to your Apple Music purchase history and act quickly before the 40 day window expires.
How do you remove a song from your Apple Music history?
There are a couple options if you want to remove a certain song from your Apple Music listening history:
- Tap the 3 dots next to any song in your history and choose Remove. This will delete it from your Apple ID’s records.
- You can also reset your entire Apple Music listening history which wipes the slate clean.
Keep in mind your history is used for recommendations, so removing a lot of songs may affect Apple Music’s ability to suggest music tailored for you. An unwanted track here and there can be deleted, just know a full reset will clear out everything.
Why is my Apple Music history not updating?
If your Apple Music history is not showing the latest songs and albums you’ve listened to, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Check if “Share Listening Activity” is enabled under Music settings
- Make sure you have an internet connection and Apple Music is synced across devices
- Force close and re-open the Music app
- Toggle “Show Apple Music” under Music history filters
- Update iOS software and the Music app to the latest version
- Try rebooting your iPhone and waiting up to 24 hours
If still not updating, you can contact Apple Support. They can help troubleshoot and see if there is an issue with your Apple ID not recording streaming history properly.
Can you see someone else’s Apple Music history?
No, you cannot see another person’s Apple Music listening history and activity. The history is private to each user’s individual Apple ID.
Even with Apple Music Family Sharing for up to 6 people, there is no way to view each other’s history or what they are playing. Everyone in the family group has their own private music profile.
The only services that let you see listening activity across accounts are Apple Music Friends and Spotify’s Friend Activity, which both require sharing to be enabled. So for full privacy, keep Apple Music history limited to your eyes only.
How do I find my old Apple Music playlists?
If you made any Apple Music playlists in the past that are now missing, there are a couple places you can find them again:
- Recently Deleted Playlist – Playlists stay here for 40 days after being deleted before being permanently removed.
- Listen Now Tab – Old playlists may show up in suggestions or the Made For You section.
- Profile on Apple Music Web – Go to music.apple.com, click your profile, and view all of your old playlists.
- iCloud Music Library – If enabled, your playlists may be restored from iCloud.
Additionally, you can use an iTunes or iCloud backup to recover deleted Apple Music playlists. Just be sure to check for your missing playlists soon before they are gone for good.
Why does my Apple Music keep repeating songs?
If you notice Apple Music keeps playing the same songs repeatedly, here are some potential reasons and fixes:
- You have “Replay” enabled, which keeps restarting a song. Turn this off in Music settings.
- A song or playlist is added to your library multiple times. Delete duplicate entries.
- A device is out of sync and continuing to play old songs. Make sure listening history is up to date across devices.
- “Shuffle” is on, which can randomly repeat songs. Turn shuffle off.
- Your listening habits are influencing suggestions. Try clearing history or tagging disliked songs.
Additionally, make sure Apple Music is updated to the latest version. If issues persist, contacting Apple support can help get to the bottom of why songs are repeating.
How do I delete a song from my Apple Music library?
To remove a song from your Apple Music library:
- Open the Music app and go to Library > Songs
- Swipe left on the song you want to delete
- Tap Delete
This will just remove the download from your library, not delete it from Apple Music entirely. To re-add it, just search and re-download the song.
You can also remove it from playlists, albums, or radio stations you’ve added it to for a clean slate. Deleting a song won’t affect your Apple Music recommendations or history.
Can Siri identify Apple Music songs?
Yes, you can ask Siri to identify a song playing in Apple Music. Just say “Hey Siri, what song is this?” and Siri will tell you the song name and artist.
Siri can identify songs from:
- Your Apple Music library
- Apple Music radio stations
- Any third-party app using Apple Music playback, like Spotify
This makes it easy to find out any song name without needing to look it up. Siri uses Shazam technology to detect the song by listening to a short sample. Just note that for accuracy, Siri needs a clean audio sample with minimal background noise.
Music History Tables
Apple Music History Data
Here is an example data table visualizing Apple Music listening history:
| Song | Artist | Album | Play Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blinding Lights | The Weeknd | After Hours | 13 |
| Dance Monkey | Tones and I | The Kids Are Coming | 8 |
| Memories | Maroon 5 | Singles | 5 |
Top Artists from History
Most listened to artists in Apple Music history:
| Artist | Total Songs Played |
|---|---|
| Drake | 25 |
| Billie Eilish | 18 |
| Ed Sheeran | 12 |
Top Genres from History
Most listened to genres in Apple Music history:
| Genre | Total Hours Listened |
|---|---|
| Pop | 35 |
| Hip-Hop/Rap | 22 |
| Rock | 15 |
Visualizing your Apple Music data like this makes it easy to see your listening patterns and favorite artists, songs, albums, and genres from your history.
Privacy and Data
Accessing Apple Music Data
Apple provides ways to download your Apple Music data:
- Listen History – Get playlist/album/song stream data in JSON/CSV formats.
- Account Data – Download your Apple Music library metadata, playlists, favorites etc.
- Privacy Data – Request a copy of all data associated with your Apple ID.
On your iPhone, you can view listening metrics like:
- Top Songs
- Top Albums
- Top Artists
- Top Genres
This makes it easy to export your personal Apple Music data for analysis.
Deleting Apple Music Data
To delete your Apple Music data history and account info, you can:
- Reset Play History – Clears all listening activity data.
- Cancel Apple Music Subscription – Stops data collection.
- Request Data Deletion – Asks Apple to remove account data.
However, some usage data may still remain in backups and archives. Deleting Apple Music data is not easily reversible.
Apple Music Data Retention Policy
Apple retains Apple Music data for the following time periods:
| Listen History | Up to 36 months |
| Account Data | Up to 6 months after canceling subscription |
| Payment Data | Up to 10 years for tax/legal purposes |
After these thresholds, Apple claims data is de-identified or deleted. Backups may retain data longer.
Protecting Apple Music Privacy
To maximize Apple Music privacy:
- Disable Listen History sharing
- Use Apple Music Family instead of sharing libraries
- Frequently reset Play History
- Enable two-factor authentication
- Avoid sharing listening activity to social media
Apple Music data reveals a lot about musical tastes and habits. Take precautions to keep it private.