Spotify is one of the best audio streaming platforms available nowadays.
I tried to download the new iOS 8 only to find out my iPhone doesn't have enough capacity to download it. I checked my usage settings and it turns out the Spotify App is taking up 4.7 GB of space on my iPhone (exactly the amount of free space I need to download iOS 8).
It has proved to be highly beneficial to avid music lovers and they can now be glued up endlessly to the Spotify app and listen to their favorite songs without worrying about any issues.
However, there is a teeny tiny twist here. The local Spotify folder ends up gathering a huge trove of junk data whenever it is used. Users have even reported about the Spotify folder going on to be as voluminous as 10 GB in size, which is quite shocking as it is only there for saving song cache.
Cleaning up Spotify junk might well be quite of an achievement if you set out to do so manually. However, were you to make use of a smart method to delete the junk, that would be quite a walk in the park.
ST Cleaner is distributed with verifiable digital signatures
We’ve gathered an array of solutions that can be helpful in this scenario. Let’s briefly touch each one of them.
Change Spotify Storage Space
Exit the Spotify app and then navigate to: C:Users%username%AppDataLocalSpotifyData (this is the folder where all data related to Spotify is stored).
Simply delete the entire content of this folder. Next, go to: C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingSpotifyprefs
Edit this file with Notepad and you will spot the storage.size option.
If it isn’t available, manually type the following string in the file:
storage.size=*desired amount of megabytes*
Example: storage.size=1280
Save the file and restart Spotify. The cache content must have been cleaned out now.
Deny Write Permission to Spotify
You can also opt to deny the write permission to Spotify. This will result in restricting it from adding more cache to the software. The Spotify cache folder is located at:
C:Users%userprofile%AppDataLocalSpotifyData
- Navigate to the above-mentioned location, right-click the Data folder and select Properties.
- Click the Security tab.
- Now select Edit.
- In the next window, select your username and then select the Deny checkbox for Write. Follow this instruction exactly as described or you could end up severely harming Spotify’s working.
- Click OK | OK.
Adjust Spotify’s Cache Size
You can also adjust the cache size for Spotify from within the software. Here is how to do it.
- Launch Spotify and go to Edit | Preferences.
- Scroll down to Cache and simply edit it as per your requirements.
Perform a Clean Reinstall of Spotify
First of all, uninstall Spotify and then delete its storage folder from:
C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingSpotify
Restart your computer and then simply reinstall Spotify.
Delete local-files.bnk
Another way to go about this issue is to locate the file named as local-files.bnk. This file is located at:
C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingSpotifyUsers
Now search for the folder that is named similar to 123456-user. The actual folder name will contain a sequence of numbers (a different one most probably) followed by your username. Open that folder, locate local-files.bnk inside it and delete it.
How Much Space Does Spotify App Take Up Computer
Opt for Auto-update to reduce Cache Size
Spotify doesn’t updates itself automatically, which tremendously increases its cache size. If you want to opt for auto-update, simply delete the file named local-files-desktop.spa, which can be found at:
C:Users%username%AppDataRoamingSpotifyApps
Using ST Cleaner to Sweep Clean Spotify Junk in Windows
The best automated method to sweep away all the Spotify junk swiftly and safely is ST Cleaner.
This program lets you clean up junk files from all nooks and corners of the system and is divided into 4 broad categories for your ease. They are System Cache, Software Junk, Web Junk and Social and Multimedia.
Download and install the software. Now launch it and click Scan. Once the scan is over, it will provide all the hard disk space you stand to gain by wiping off the junk. Click Clean Now to launch the cleanup process.
How Much Space Does Spotify App Take Up Phone
First there were cassettes. Then there were CDs. Audio files were next, and now, Spotify is one of the most popular ways to listen to music. An endless supply of music is awesome for audiophiles and anyone who likes being able to listen to what they want at a moment’s notice, but it can also consume quite a bit of data. That’s why it’s important for listeners to know exactly how much their playlists could cost them in data.
How Much Data Will a Typical Song on Spotify Consume?
If the listener has Spotify on its default setting, a 3-minute song consumes 2 megabytes (MB) of data or more. That means if they listen to songs for an hour straight, it will consume about 40 MB. At 10 hours of listening, Spotify will have used about half a gigabyte (GB).
This makes it critical that the listener has a data plan that can cover their needs. There are still some cell phone plans on the market that provide a mere 100 MB of data each month, which would only be enough for three hours of music.
Now, there are different quality settings on Spotify, and the amount of data used depends on the quality of the song. A listener can see what their Spotify music quality is set at by tapping Your Library, then Settings, and then Music Quality.
There is normal quality, which streams songs at about 96 kilobits per second (kbps). High quality streams at about 160 kbps and extreme quality streams at about 302 kbps. By default, Spotify is set to automatic quality, where it sets a quality based on the listener’s connection. Automatic quality is always at least 96 kbps.
Normal quality is when a 3-minute song will use 2 MB of data. On high quality, it will use 3.5 MB, and on extreme quality, it will use 7.5 MB. However, these numbers decrease when playing songs the user has already listened to before, because Spotify caches those songs.
What Is Typical Monthly Data Usage with Spotify?
If the listener uses Spotify for 30 minutes per day, it will consume 0.5 GB on its normal quality setting and 2.2 GB on its extreme quality setting. One hour of listening per day will use 1.2 GB for normal quality and 4.5 GB for extreme quality. Two hours per day will use 2.4 GB for normal quality and 9 GB for extreme quality.
What About Offline Playlists?
Although the free and premium versions of Spotify use the same amount of data, Spotify Premium also allows the user to download up to 3,333 songs. That’s a per-device limit, and they can do this with up to three devices. After downloading songs, it doesn’t require an internet connection or any data to play them.
How Does Spotify Data Use Compare to YouTube Data Use?
How Much Does Spotify Cost
Since YouTube provides video content, it will use more data than Spotify. On their lowest quality settings, one hour of Spotify streaming will use 40 MB of data, whereas one hour of YouTube streaming will use 100 MB of data. On their medium quality settings, Spotify uses 70 MB and YouTube uses 250 MB. On their high quality settings, Spotify uses 150 MB and YouTube uses 750 MB.
How Can a Listener Use Less Data with Spotify?
Keeping data usage on Spotify to a minimum is easy with its quality settings. The listener simply needs to tap Your Library, Settings and Music Quality. Then, they can choose either automatic or normal.
The listener can also opt to only download music through Wi-Fi networks by turning off the Download Using Cellular option. This option is available in the same area as the Music Quality controls.
How Does Spotify Work
Of course, Spotify Premium users can save data by downloading songs when connected to a Wi-Fi network, since they won't need to use any data to play those songs going forward.