Spin AtlasHow to analyze Spotify Extended Streaming History
To analyze your Spotify Extended Streaming History, request the extended package, extract its ZIP, and select all its relevant streaming-history JSON files in Spin Atlas. Review the dates and timezone before opening your seasons, artist careers and annual awards. No Spin Atlas account is needed.
Which Spotify download do you need?
Spotify offers different kinds of data. Its official data reference explains what each contains. For Spotify imports, Spin Atlas accepts only Extended Streaming History.
| Download or file | What it describes | Use in Spin Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Extended Streaming History | Recorded listening during your account’s lifetime. | Yes: extracted streaming-history JSON files. |
| Ordinary Account Data | Includes streaming history for the past year. | No: request the extended package. |
| Library or playlist files | Saved content and playlist contents. | No: these do not supply a dated record of your plays. |
“Lifetime” describes Spotify’s package scope; it does not establish that every listen you remember is present. Spin Atlas can only calculate from the records supplied.
Request and extract the export
- Sign in to Spotify’s Account Privacy page and request Extended Streaming History through the data-download controls.
- Follow Spotify’s confirmation and delivery instructions. Preparation is not immediate; use the status Spotify provides rather than expecting a fixed delivery date.
- Download the prepared ZIP and extract it into a folder. Keep the untouched download for future imports.
Spotify’s download instructions explain the request route. Consult the Read Me First document included with your package if its contents are unclear.
Choose all relevant files from one export
A history can span several files. Open Import history, select Spotify, and choose the extracted streaming-history JSON files together. Do not select the ZIP, library files or playlists. You do not need to edit the files or convert them in a spreadsheet.
Select every relevant history part from that one export, even when the files cover overlapping calendar years. Shared years alone do not mean duplicate events. The current input limit is 300 MB total across selected files.
Review before opening your record book
Check the detected source, selected files, earliest and latest dates, accepted plays and skipped entries. Choose the timezone you want for calendar dates. Spotify records when a stream ended; Spin Atlas assigns that end timestamp to a date and year in your chosen timezone. A play near midnight on New Year’s Eve can therefore fall in a different year from its UTC date.
Spin Atlas keeps exactly one file archive. Importing a replacement requires review; it does not append another export or combine Spotify with another provider’s file archive. Review which personal choices carry over and which cannot be retained before accepting.
If the import or dates look wrong
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Unsupported package | Confirm Extended Streaming History, not Account Data, library or playlists. |
| A year is missing | Check observed coverage. The source may lack that year; absence is not proof of no listening. |
| Only part of the history appears | Compare selected files with the extracted folder. An omitted part can remove years or plays. |
| The latest year looks small | Check the final recorded date. This is a snapshot, with no live Spotify connection. |
| A play falls in an adjacent year | Review timezone and end-of-play timing around the year boundary. |
| A duplicate file is skipped | Byte-identical copies count once; no action is needed to add them again. |
| Overlapping files are rejected | Distinct files contain matching events. Return to one untouched export; Spin Atlas does not merge overlapping files. |
Read the results and keep your files
New books rank by recorded plays and retain measured minutes separately. Positive-duration short music plays count; zero-duration and non-music entries do not. These are not completed-song counts. Follow the year-to-career example or compare plays, minutes and a personal award.
Import processing stays in your browser without uploading your files or listening history. Browser saving is optional. Signing in alone does not upload the book; choosing Save online uploads the calculated book and choices to private account storage. Usage counters exclude music details and filenames; optional release lookups send relevant artist and album details to MusicBrainz. See Privacy. Keep your original export: missing records cannot be reconstructed.