How to delete a Spotify playlist — and get it back within 90 days
Deleting is instant, but it is not permanent. Spotify keeps removed playlists for 90 days and restores them from your account page in two clicks. After that they are gone for good.
Deleting a Spotify playlist takes a second. The useful part is what happens next: it is recoverable for 90 days, and most people do not know that until they need it.
Deleting one
Open the playlist and choose delete from the playlist's own menu. It works the same in the mobile app, the desktop app and the web player.
It disappears from your library immediately. Nothing warns you that it is recoverable, which is why so many people assume it is gone.
Getting it back
If you deleted it in the last 90 days:
- Log in to your account page on Spotify's website — not the app. This only exists on the web.
- Click Recover playlists in the left-hand menu.
- Click Restore next to the playlist you want.
- Open Spotify. The restored playlist sits at the bottom of your playlist collection, not back in its original position.
That last detail catches people out — they restore it, look where it used to be, and think it failed.
The 90-day limit is firm
The recovery page only lists playlists removed within the past 90 days. Past that, Spotify deletes them for you and they do not appear. There is no appeal and no deeper archive.
If a playlist matters, the recovery window is your only safety net — so check the date before assuming you have time.
You cannot force a permanent delete
There is no "delete forever" button. A deleted playlist sits in the recovery window whether you want it to or not, then ages out on its own.
If you deleted something you would rather not have sitting in recovery, the only thing that removes it is time.
One thing worth knowing about collaborators
Deleting a playlist removes it from your library. If you were following someone else's playlist rather than owning it, you are removing your copy of the follow — the original is untouched and you can follow it again. Check whether you actually created a playlist before worrying about recovering it.
The short version
- Delete: playlist menu, in any Spotify client.
- Recover: account page on the web → Recover playlists → Restore. 90 days only.
- After restore: look at the bottom of your playlist list.
- Permanent delete on demand: not available.
Recovery window, menu location and restore behaviour come from Spotify's own support article on saving and recovering playlists, checked on the date at the top of this page.