Apple Music can automatically add songs from playlists to your music library, or you can keep playlist tracks separate from the Library. This preference is useful if you follow large playlists but do not want every track to appear among the albums and songs you consider part of your personal collection.
Change the Add Playlist Songs setting
- Open Settings on the iPhone.
- Open the Music settings. On newer iOS versions, you may first choose Apps > Music.
- Find Add Playlist Songs.
- Turn it on if songs added to playlists should also enter your Library, or turn it off to keep those actions separate.
The setting does not remove existing library songs
Turning Add Playlist Songs off changes future behavior. Tracks that were already added to your Library remain there unless you remove them separately.
Adding to a playlist and downloading are different actions
A track can belong to a playlist without being downloaded for offline listening. Download controls depend on your Apple Music settings and subscription, and offline files consume iPhone storage.
Sync Library affects availability across devices
If Sync Library is enabled for the same Apple Account, library and playlist changes can appear on other compatible devices. Be careful when deleting music if you expect it to remain available elsewhere.
Older instructions may show a different menu
Apple has reorganized app settings in recent iOS releases. If Music no longer appears at the top level of Settings, use the Apps section or search Settings for Music.
This preference is mainly about library organization. Turning it off does not stop you from creating playlists, adding tracks to them, streaming those songs, or manually adding individual songs to your Library later.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.