How To Stop Spotify from Opening on Startup

Steve Larner February 15, 2021

By default, Spotify launches whenever you boot or reboot your device. It doesn’t matter whether you are on a Mac or Windows system. While the option is beneficial to some people, it isn’t to others, such as users of low-end systems, people who use it rarely, and even when the need to preserve resources for other tasks occurs.

How To Stop Spotify from Opening on Startup

Mac is much better than Windows at preventing programs from adding themselves to the startup function (due to user notifications), but it isn’t difficult to stop Spotify from auto-starting, no matter what OS you use.

How to Remove Autostart from Spotify in a Mac

The Mac OS features many user permissions, one of which requires Spotify to ask for autostart functionality. When you first install Spotify, you should see a popup asking you if you would like it to boot automatically. If you share your computer and somebody else accepted the prompt to authorize startup functionality, you can still turn it off.

Open Spotify on your Mac, then select the down arrow in the top-right section, and then click on “Settings.”
Scroll down the Settings menu and click on “SHOW ADVANCED SETTINGS.” to open up more menu options.
Scroll up to the “Startup and Window Behaviour” menu option. Choose “No” in the dropdown menu next to “Open Spotify automatically…”

The next time you start your Mac, Spotify should not load, and it won’t ask to start with your computer again either. If it does start, redo the steps above. Sometimes, the OS fails to register the option, but that’s no different than Microsoft Windows that often requires several reboots to make a change. Now, you can open Spotify whenever you want rather than during startup.

Note: Spotify is not present in the “Login Items” section by default, which is the startup list within “System Preferences -> Users & Groups.” You have to use Spotify’s Settings menu to turn off autostart or it won’t work.

You can add Spotify to your “Login Items” list if desired, but it has no effect on startup functionality. If Spotify is listed in “Login Items,” then someone else placed it there manually.

If you would like to view your startup applications on your Mac, navigate to “System Preferences -> Users & Groups” and select “Login Items.”

How to Remove Spotify from Startup in Windows 10, 8, 7

Windows 10, 8, and 7 don’t ask you for permission to let apps and programs add themselves to the startup list, but many programs prompt you for the option out of courtesy. If a program doesn’t take up many resources and doesn’t slow down the boot process or use considerable resources, it’s generally not an issue. Some people prefer that Spotify does not autostart at boot and do so for various reasons.

To remove Spotify from startup in Windows:

Open Spotify in Windows, then click on the horizontal ellipsis (three horizontal dots) and select “Edit” in the top menu, and then choose “Preferences.”
Scroll down and look for “Startup and window behavior.”
Select the dropdown next to “Open Spotify automatically….” and choose “No.”

The next time you boot Windows, Spotify should not start. If Spotify does launch (an active window or as a background process shown in the taskbar), retry the steps above. Just like Mac, it may take a couple of reboots to make the change successfully.

Note: When disabling the autostart of Spotify in Windows versus Mac, the Task Manager settings actually work to stop it from launching during bootup. Therefore, you can use the following steps as a second option if preferred.

If you want to stop Spotify from autostarting and have more control over what starts when you boot Windows, follow these next steps.

Right-click an empty part of your Windows Task Bar and select “Task Manager” from the popup menu.
Click on the “Startup” tab, right-click on “Spotify” or other programs, then select “Enable” or “Disable” to control startup functionality.
Repeat for any app you don’t want to automatically start during Windows bootup.

You should ideally remove as many apps as you can from the startup list. Make sure to keep antivirus, firewall, security apps, and any drivers enabled. Everything else is optional. Add programs if you want to or remove them as you see fit. Depending on whether you’re using an SSD or HDD, you could see a significant difference in boot times once you remove a few of those programs from startup, including Spotify!