How long until Apple Music deletes your playlist?

Apple Music is a popular music streaming service developed by Apple Inc. that allows users to access a vast library of songs, albums, playlists, and more. Apple Music users can create and save customized playlists of their favorite songs to listen to whenever they want.

However, many Apple Music users have encountered an issue where their playlists seem to disappear or get deleted from the service over time. This can happen without any action from the user and often leads to frustration when a carefully curated playlist is no longer accessible.

Apple Music Playlists Overview

Apple Music playlists allow users to save and organize their favorite songs into personalized collections. Playlists can be created directly within the Apple Music app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. Users can add any song from the Apple Music catalog of over 100 million tracks to a playlist.

Key features of Apple Music playlists include:

  • Creating playlists – Users can make custom playlists by searching for artists, albums, songs, or browsing Apple Music recommendations. Playlists can be given custom names and album artwork.
  • Sharing playlists – Playlists can be shared with friends through Messages, email, or by generating a web link. Collaborative playlists allow multiple users to edit the same playlist.
  • Downloading – Entire playlists or individual tracks can be downloaded for offline listening when an internet connection is unavailable.
  • Organization – Playlists can be organized into folders to keep collections tidy. Recently added playlists appear in a “Recently Added” section.
  • Enhanced listening – Options like crossfade, autoplay, and up next make it easy to enjoy seamless playback.

Playlists allow Apple Music subscribers to customize their library and access their favorite music on all devices synced to their Apple ID.

Playlist Deletion Policy

Apple Music has an automated system that deletes playlists that have not been played or modified after an extended period of inactivity. According to Apple’s support page, playlists that are inactive for an unspecified amount of time will be automatically deleted from a user’s Apple Music library.

This deletion policy applies to all Apple Music playlists, whether they are created by the user or added from other sources. Playlists are considered “inactive” if they have not been played, modified, or otherwise interacted with by the user after a certain time period passes. Apple does not provide specifics on exactly how long that time period is before automatic deletion occurs.

The main purpose of this policy is to help keep users’ Apple Music libraries organized by cleaning up unused or forgotten playlists over time. However, it can result in playlists being unexpectedly deleted if the user wants to save them long-term but forgets to play or modify them periodically. Turning on iCloud Music Library can help protect against losing playlists due to inactivity deletions.

Why Apple Deletes Old Playlists

There are a few reasons why Apple Music may delete old playlists after an extended period of inactivity:

Storage limits – Apple Music stores all playlists and music libraries in the cloud. With millions of users, storage capacity is finite. Deleting unused playlists frees up space on servers (1).

Keep content fresh – Playlists that haven’t been accessed in a long time may contain outdated or irrelevant tracks for most listeners. Removing stale playlists ensures Apple Music recommendations and profiles stay current (2).

Inactive accounts – If a subscription expires or an account becomes inactive, Apple cleans up unused playlists over time. This prevents user data from occupying storage indefinitely after cancellation.

Licensing issues – On rare occasions, licensing agreements for some tracks may expire. Deleting affected playlists prevents playback issues.

Encourage engagement – The auto-deletion of inactive playlists incentivizes listeners to return and access their libraries regularly. This makes user profiles more accurate for recommendations.

Overall, the main factors are the technical restraints of cloud storage and Apple’s focus on maintaining fresh, relevant content for active listeners.

Playlist Deletion Timeframes

Apple Music playlists will remain available as long as you maintain an active subscription. If you cancel your subscription, your playlists and library will be deleted after a grace period. According to discussions on Reddit and Quora, this grace period seems to be around 1 month or 30 days after cancellation [1] [2].

Some users have reported losing access to their playlists and library in as little as 2 weeks after unsubscribing. However, Apple’s official policy states users have 30 days to resubscribe and regain access before complete deletion. So you can expect your playlists to be available for approximately 1 month after canceling, but no longer than that.

In summary, Apple Music playlists will be deleted somewhere between 2 weeks and 1 month after you end your subscription. To ensure long-term access, it’s important to maintain an active membership.

Recovering Deleted Playlists

If you accidentally delete an Apple Music playlist, there are a few options to try and restore it:

First, check your Recently Deleted Playlist folder in the Apple Music app. Deleted playlists are stored here for up to 30 days before being permanently erased [1]. You may be able to recover your playlist by finding it in this folder and restoring it.

You can also try restoring your entire Apple Music library from an iTunes or iCloud backup [2]. This reverts your Apple Music app data back to the state of your last backup. Just be aware this will also undo any changes made since then.

Finally, if you deleted the playlist quite some time ago, you may be out of luck. Apple does not provide a way to recover playlists deleted more than 30 days ago [3]. So make sure to back up your Apple Music regularly.

Preventing Playlist Deletion

There are a few ways you can help prevent your playlists from being automatically deleted on Apple Music:

Listen to playlists regularly – Apple Music considers how recently a playlist has been played when deciding what to delete. If you listen to a playlist at least once every few months, it’s less likely to get removed.

Download playlists for offline listening – Downloaded playlists will stick around on your device even if they get deleted from iCloud. Just remember to sync your device occasionally to restore downloads.

Save important playlists – You can save playlists which will protect them from automated cleanup. Open the playlist, tap the More button (…), and choose Add to Library.

Consider upgrading – With a paid Apple Music subscription, you get access to your entire music library and playlists without anything expiring after a time period.

Back up playlists – Use a third party app like SongShift to regularly back up your Apple Music playlists, so you have a copy if they disappear.

Check playlists periodically – Don’t wait until a playlist vanishes before trying to recover it. Review your library every month or so.

Follow playlist creators – Playlists made by artists, curators, and editors tend to stick around longer than personalized playlists.

Alternative Music Services

When it comes to playlist deletion policies, Apple Music has some key differences compared to other major music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music.

Spotify does not automatically delete inactive user accounts or playlists according to discussions on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/truespotify/comments/11mtc8k/what_happens_to_the_playlists_if_the_owner_stops/). However, there are occasional bugs that can cause downloaded songs to be deleted from devices (https://community.spotify.com/t5/Android/Spotify-deletes-my-downloaded-songs/td-p/4990142). Overall, playlists seem relatively safe from automated deletion on Spotify.

YouTube Music has faced criticism for filling up “Liked Songs” playlists with deleted or private tracks users no longer have access to (https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/thread/19814939/liked-songs-playlist-is-full-with-deleted-private-songs?hl=en). But there are no indications that entire playlists are automatically deleted over time on YouTube Music either.

In comparison, Apple Music will delete inactive users’ playlists after an extended period of no logins or plays. So Apple Music likely has the most aggressive playlist deletion policy of these major streaming platforms.

User Feedback

Many Apple Music users have voiced complaints and concerns about playlist deletion issues on various forums. In March 2023, users on Reddit and other sites reported strange behavior including playlists being emptied or populated with unknown songs (Source). Some users found songs randomly deleted from playlists or entire playlists disappearing without notification (Source).

Back in 2018, an Apple Music user on Reddit asked “Why did Apple just remove all the music in my playlist???” and another user responded that they had experienced similar strange behavior with playlists being emptied (Source). These issues underscore concerns that playlists created in Apple Music may not be reliably stored long-term.

Many affected users have voiced frustration about losing curated playlists and not receiving any notification or explanation from Apple. There is uncertainty around what causes playlists to be deleted and whether there are measures users can take to prevent it. Overall, these complaints reveal reliability issues with Apple Music’s handling of user playlists.

Conclusion

Apple Music can delete playlists after an extended period of inactivity in order to free up storage space. The exact deletion timeframe is unclear, but appears to be around 1-2 years of no plays or edits. Unfortunately, once a playlist is deleted, there is no way to recover it through Apple Music directly.

The best way to preserve your Apple Music playlists long term is to remain active on the service by streaming and editing them periodically. You can also export copies of your playlists or use a third party app to back them up. Consider migrating irreplaceable playlists to a platform like Spotify that does not delete playlists. Check back on old Apple Music playlists every 6-12 months to ensure they are still available.

In summary, Apple Music playlist deletion is a risk for inactive users. But with some preventative measures, you can ensure your playlists remain available indefinitely within the service.