How to Make a Playlist Private on Apple Music

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Grace
April 28, 2025

Apple Music allows friends to discover and follow each other, so they can see what you’re currently listening to and access your shared playlists. However, if there’s a playlist you prefer to keep away from your followers’ view, Apple Music provides an option to make it private by not showing it on your profile and in search results. Making a playlist private on Apple Music is easy and can be done on both desktop and mobile devices. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

How to Make an Apple Music Playlist Private on iPhone?

To make an Apple Music playlist private, you have two options: either directly from the specific playlist or through your profile settings, which allows you to manage multiple playlists at the same time.

Option 1. Make It Private Directly From the Playlist

  1. Open the Apple Music app on your phone or tablet and tap Library from the bottom.
  2. Tap Playlists from the Library and choose the playlist you want to hide.
choose a playlist

  1. From the playlist detail page, tap the three dots on the top right and choose Edit from the drop-down menu.
  2. Turn off Show on My Profile and in Search” and tap Done at the top right corner. This public playlist has been made private.
turn off shown on my profile and in search

Option 2. Hide Playlists from Your Profile

  1. Go to Listen Now on your Apple Music app and tap the profile icon my account button on the top right.
  2. Tap View Profile.
  3. Tap the EDIT button under your profile name.

  1. Scroll down to the SHARED PLAYLISTS section, uncheck the playlists you want to make private, and tap Done at the upper right corner.
uncheck playlists

How to Make an Apple Music Playlist Private on a Computer?

If you want to make a public playlist private on your Apple Music desktop app, you can also achieve it through the playlist and from your profile settings.

Option 1. From the Playlist

  1. Open the Apple Music desktop app and go to the playlist you want to make private.
  2. Uncheck the box next to “Show on My Profile and in Search.”
uncheck show on my profile and in search

Option 2. From Profile Settings

1. Launch the Apple Music on your desktop and go to Listen Now from the left sidebar. Click your profile image at the upper right.

click your profile image

2. Click the Edit button.

edit your profile

3. Uncheck the playlist under the Shared Playlists section and click the Done button on the top right.

uncheck playlists

Best Alternative to Make an Apple Music Playlist Private

If you want complete privacy for an Apple Music playlist, a highly effective approach is to download it as MP3 files. For this purpose, consider using a professional Apple Music downloader – Pazu Apple Music Converter. This safe and effective downloader helps you convert any Apple Music playlists, albums, and songs to MP3, AAC, FLAC, and other popular formats on Mac/Windows without any loss in quality. This way, you can enjoy the lossless Apple Music of your favorite playlist anywhere and anytime, with the added benefit of total privacy.

Pazu Apple Music Converter excels not only in downloading your preferred playlists and songs but also in preserving the original audio quality, ID3 tags, and metadata, ensuring that no essential information is lost. The converter has a really fast download and convert speed, nearly 10 times faster than any other similar software. Additionally, Pazu Apple Music Converter integrates with the Apple Music web player, allowing you to batch convert any Apple Music playlist or album to your preferred format without relying on iTunes or the Music app.

Key Features of Pazu Apple Music Converter

  • User-friendly interface
  • 10x Fast Music download speed
  • Advanced DRM removal
  • Lossless audio quality
  • Keep original ID3 tags & metadata
  • Download Apple Music songs, albums and playlists
  • Unlimited downloads
  • Adjustable output options

Follow the tutorial below on how to download Apple Music to MP3 and make the playlists private. 

Step 1. Launch Pazu Apple Music Converter

Download, install and run Pazu Apple Music Converter on your Mac or Windows.

Apple Music Converter

Step 2. Choose the output format

The default format is M4A in 256kbps. Apple Music Converter also supports MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and AIFF. Click the gear icon if you want to change the output format or output folder.

Apple Music Converter settings

Step 3. Choose a playlist, artist, or album you want to download

Follow the on-screen instructions to choose a playlist, artist, or album that you want to download.

add Apple Music songs

Step 4. Start to download Apple Music songs

Click the “Convert” button to start downloading Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists to MP3, so you can play them anywhere you want, even after canceling your Apple Music subscription.

convert Apple Music to MP3

Apple Music Converter

Apple Music Converter

Download Apple Music to MP3, M4A, etc.