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How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know

29 November 2023, 12:20

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By Sam Prance

Is Spotify Wrapped inaccurate? The calculations behind your Spotify Wrapped 2023 results explained.

Spotify Wrapped 2023 is finally here but how accurate is it and when does it actually start tracking our 2023 listening habits?

It's that time of year again. With the holiday season now in full swing, there's one thing that everyone's talking about: Spotify Wrapped. Today (Nov 29), Spotify surprised the internet with their 2023 Spotify Wrapped results and they include your Top Songs, Top Artists and so much more.

Is Spotify Wrapped accurate though? Here's why you may have received very different results to what you were expecting.

When does Spotify Wrapped start tracking?

Is Spotify Wrapped accurate? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know. Picture: Spotify

Despite what you may assume, Spotify Wrapped doesn't ever calculate your streaming results for a whole year. The tracking period always starts on January 1st and ends on October 31st. This gives Spotify time to put together all of your results in time for December. However, it also means that none of your November/December listening habits are ever included.

As for how accurate the results are, Spotify remains tight-lipped on how it calculates them and whether or not any streams get left out. Although it's possible that, just like Apple Music, Spotify Wrapped only counts online streams of songs and doesn't track offline streams of songs. In other words, a portion of your listening habits could be missing.

Is Spotify Wrapped accurate? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (2). Picture: Spotify

That being said, for the most part, your results should be pretty accurate. In other words, that shock artist in your Top 5 is likely in your Top 5 for a reason!