A “recently deleted playlists” feature allows users to recover playlists that have been accidentally or intentionally deleted within a set time frame, usually around 30 days. This provides a safety net for users so they don’t permanently lose curated playlists they have spent time building. Playlists on streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify can contain hundreds of songs that represent many hours of effort organizing and collecting music. Having the ability to recover deleted playlists reduces frustration and lost work for users.
Many users have likely experienced the sinking feeling of realizing they have accidentally deleted a playlist they cared about and wanted to keep. A “recently deleted” feature gives them a chance to rectify this mistake and recover their playlist before it is gone forever. It adds an extra step before permanent deletion so that users have a window of time to undo unintended deletions.
Overall, a “recently deleted playlists” feature caters to users who actively curate playlists and provides some insurance against accidental deletions that would otherwise result in losing their collected content and work organizing it.
Does Apple Music Have a ‘Recently Deleted’ Playlist Feature?
No, Apple Music does not currently have a ‘recently deleted’ playlist feature natively within the service. Unlike some other streaming platforms like Spotify, there is no option on Apple Music to recover playlists that a user may have accidentally deleted.
Once a playlist is deleted on Apple Music, it is permanently gone and cannot be restored. The playlists do not get sent to any type of ‘recently deleted’ section where they remain recoverable for a limited time. This means users need to be very careful when deleting Apple Music playlists, as there is no built-in safety net if they change their mind.
According to discussions on the Apple support forums, this lack of a ‘recently deleted’ playlist feature is a common complaint among Apple Music users. However, Apple employees have confirmed that the ability to recover deleted playlists is currently not an option within Apple Music.
Why Users Want Recently Deleted Playlists
Many Apple Music users have requested a “recently deleted” feature for playlists so they can easily recover playlists that were accidentally deleted. According to discussions on the Apple support forums, it’s a common frustration that deleting a playlist on Apple Music is permanent – there is no undo option or recycle bin to restore deleted playlists (Apple Discussions, 2022a; Apple Discussions, 2022b).
Without a “recently deleted” feature, the only way to get back a deleted playlist is to restore the entire iPhone from a backup that still contains the playlist. This is inconvenient, as restoring the whole phone would erase any new data since that backup. Users want an easier way to recover just the playlist itself if it was deleted unintentionally.
Having a “recently deleted” playlist feature would give users peace of mind that they can recover playlists they may have deleted by mistake. It would also allow them to experiment more freely with creating and deleting playlists, knowing they have a safety net if something gets deleted accidentally (Apple Discussions, 2020).
Many users have requested this basic feature that is common on other streaming platforms. Not having a “recently deleted” playlist option causes unnecessary frustration for Apple Music subscribers who put time into curating playlists.
Workarounds for Deleted Playlists
Unfortunately there is currently no built-in “Recently Deleted” feature on Apple Music to easily recover playlists. However, there are some manual workarounds that users can try to restore deleted Apple Music playlists.
The most reliable method is to restore the entire iPhone from an iCloud or iTunes backup that contains the deleted playlist. While tedious, restoring from a backup should fully restore any playlists that were present at the time of that backup. Just be sure you have an iCloud or iTunes backup that is recent enough to contain the playlist before deleting it.
Another option is to use a third party iOS backup software to selectively restore just the Music app data and playlists from a backup. This avoids a full restore but requires an additional app purchase.
Lastly, some users report success simply logging out of Apple Music then logging back in to make deleted playlists reappear. However results seem mixed on whether this works to fully restore playlists or just temporarily makes them visible.
User Feedback on Lack of This Feature
Many Apple Music users have expressed frustration over the lack of a “recently deleted” playlist feature. On Apple’s own discussions forums, users have complained and requested the ability to restore deleted playlists.
One user started a thread titled “Deleted Playlist,” saying they accidentally deleted a playlist and wanted to restore it. The thread received over 1,300 replies, with many users sharing this complaint and asking Apple to implement this feature.
Similarly, another popular thread titled “Apple Music – Restore Deleted Playlists” asked about restoring playlists. One user suggested a workaround by holding the option key when launching Music, but this does not reliably recover deleted playlists.
Overall, these discussions highlight significant user demand and frustration over the inability to easily restore deleted Apple Music playlists. Many customers have lost valuable playlists and collections and feel Apple should address this problem. The feedback indicates a “recently deleted” feature would improve the Apple Music experience.
Comparison to Other Streaming Services
Unlike Apple Music, several major competing streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music actually offer a “Recently Deleted” playlists feature for users (https://www.guidingtech.com/recover-deleted-playlists-on-spotify/). This allows users to easily restore playlists that they may have accidentally deleted within a certain time frame, usually around 30 days.
Spotify has long offered the ability to recover deleted playlists, with users able to find their recently deleted playlists in the app and choose to restore them. YouTube Music also has this feature, keeping a list of deleted playlists for 30 days before they are permanently erased. Services like Amazon Music, Pandora and others have implemented similar playlist recovery options.
So Apple Music stands out for being one of the only major music streaming platforms that does not offer users any way to recover or restore recently deleted playlists. While Apple Music has many strengths in areas like music discovery, sound quality and device integration, the lack of a “Recently Deleted” playlists option is a conspicuous missing feature compared to competitors.
Why Apple May Be Hesitant to Add It
While many users have requested a “recently deleted” playlist feature, Apple seems hesitant to implement it for a few potential reasons:
Apple may not view it as a high priority engineering effort compared to other features. Playlists can already be recovered through iTunes backups, so a dedicated “recently deleted” feature may be considered redundant and not worth allocating significant engineering resources towards.
Apple is very deliberate and selective with new features to maintain simplicity and avoid bloat. A “recently deleted” playlist feature adds some complexity that could confuse more casual users.
Data storage and privacy considerations may also deter Apple. Maintaining deleted playlist data, even temporarily, creates additional data demands. Apple may wish to fully purge deleted content rather than retain it.
Overall, while a “recently deleted” playlist feature would be useful for power users, its benefit may not outweigh the engineering and design costs for Apple currently. But user demand continues to grow, so it remains a possibility for the future.
What Apple Could Do
There are a few potential ways Apple could implement a “recently deleted” playlist feature for Apple Music users. One option would be to add a “Recently Deleted Playlists” section in the Library tab, similar to how the Recently Deleted photo album works in the Photos app. This would allow users to easily recover accidentally deleted playlists for a certain window of time, such as 30 days, before they are permanently erased [1].
Another possibility is to add an “Undo Delete Playlist” option immediately after a playlist is removed. This would function similar to the undo send feature for email, letting users quickly rescue playlists they did not mean to delete [2]. An “undo” style feature would provide a safety net against accidental deletes.
Apple could also empower users to restore deleted playlists from an iTunes or iCloud backup. Adding easy playlist restore functionality into existing Apple Music backup systems would grant users another avenue to retrieve lost playlists if needed [3].
Likelihood of Future Implementation
When it comes to speculating whether Apple Music will ever add a ‘recently deleted’ feature for playlists, there are a few factors to consider. On one hand, this is clearly a feature that many users have requested over the years and continue to ask for. Other major streaming services like Spotify already offer this capability. Implementing it would likely improve customer satisfaction and retention for Apple Music.
However, Apple has thus far chosen not to add this. There are a couple possible reasons why. Apple may believe that the extra option would add unnecessary complexity to the interface. The company is known for valuing simplicity in design. Also, allowing users to easily recover deleted playlists could require additional infrastructure on Apple’s end for data backup and recovery. This would add engineering costs.
Ultimately, the benefits for users seem to outweigh the downsides for Apple. The company has shown willingness to adopt user-requested features before, like integration with Siri and Apple Watch. It seems likely that a ‘recently deleted’ option will eventually make its way to Apple Music. But given Apple’s slow, methodical approach to additions, users may need to remain patient for a while longer.
Conclusion
In summary, Apple Music currently does not have a “recently deleted” playlist feature to recover playlists that users may have accidentally deleted. While this is a commonly requested feature by Apple Music subscribers, Apple has not yet implemented it, unlike competing services such as Spotify.
There are some workaround options for Apple Music users like enabling iCloud Music Library syncing to preserve playlists across devices. However, this doesn’t help if a playlist was permanently deleted. It seems the main reason Apple hasn’t added a “recently deleted” playlist restore feature is likely technical challenges and constraints with how Apple Music stores playlists. There’s a chance Apple could implement this in the future, but it may not be a high priority for them right now.
In the meantime, the best practice for Apple Music users is to be cautious when deleting playlists and make backups of important playlists outside of the app, such as by exporting them. While the lack of a restore deleted playlists feature is inconvenient, Apple Music still offers robust playlist creation and management capabilities that users love.
