Apple Music Favorites: What the Library Setting Changes

Apple Music’s Favorites setting in your library changes which songs, albums, and artists are marked with a heart icon, and it directly controls what appears in your Favorites Mix playlist and the Favorites section of your library. When you enable or disable this setting, you are telling Apple Music whether to use your hearted items as the primary signal for personalized recommendations and library sorting. This article explains exactly what the setting does, how it differs from the old Love system, and how to use it effectively.

Background: From Love to Favorites

Apple Music has long had a way to mark songs you like, originally called “Love.” Tapping the heart icon on a song would tell Apple’s algorithms to play more similar music and to include that song in your personal mixes. In iOS 17 and later, Apple rebranded this system as “Favorites” and expanded it beyond just songs to include albums and artists. The heart icon now appears in more places, and the Favorites setting in your library determines how these hearted items are treated.

Before the change, Love was a simple binary signal: you either loved a song or you didn’t. Favorites adds a layer of organization: you can favorite an entire album or artist, and those favorites become a distinct collection in your library. The setting you’re asking about is the toggle that controls whether this collection is visible and whether it influences your recommendations.

What the Library Setting Actually Changes

When you go to Settings > Music > Favorites (or on Mac, Music > Settings > General), you’ll find a toggle labeled “Favorites.” Here’s what it does:

• Favorites section in Library: When enabled, your library shows a “Favorites” section (or a filter) that lists all songs, albums, and artists you’ve hearted. Disabling it hides this section entirely.
• Favorites Mix playlist: This weekly playlist, found in Listen Now, is built from your favorite songs. If you turn off the setting, the Favorites Mix stops updating with new hearted items, and it may eventually stop appearing altogether.
• Recommendations: The heart signal is a strong input for Apple’s recommendation engine. Disabling the setting tells Apple Music to rely less on your explicit favorites and more on your listening history (plays, skips, and time spent).
• Automatic Favorites: In iOS 17.5 and later, Apple added the ability to automatically favorite songs based on your listening habits. This feature is tied to the same Favorites setting; turning it off disables that automation.

Importantly, the setting does not delete your existing favorites. It only changes how they are displayed and used. If you turn it off and then on again, all your hearted items are still there.

How to Enable or Disable Favorites

The steps are slightly different depending on your device, but the setting is always under the Music settings.

1. On iPhone or iPad: Open Settings > Music, then toggle “Favorites” under the Library section.
2. On Mac: Open the Music app, then go to Settings (or Preferences) > General, and check or uncheck “Favorites.”
3. On Android (Apple Music app): Tap the menu (three lines) > Settings, then toggle “Favorites.”

After toggling, the change is immediate. Your Favorites section appears or disappears, and the Favorites Mix will update on its next refresh (usually weekly).

Favorites vs. Love: What’s the Difference?

Many users still see the heart icon and think of it as “Love.” In current versions of Apple Music, they are the same thing. The heart is the Favorites button. However, there is a subtle distinction in how Apple uses the data:

• Favorites (heart): Explicit signal. You are telling Apple “I like this.” It affects your library organization and the Favorites Mix.
• Listening history: Implicit signal. Every play, skip, and listen duration is tracked. Apple uses this even if you never tap a heart.

If you turn off the Favorites setting, you are essentially saying “don’t use my hearted items for recommendations or display.” But Apple still tracks your listening history and will generate a “Heavy Rotation” and “New Music Mix” based on that. So the setting is not a privacy control; it’s a preference control.

Common Problems and Misconceptions

Here are a few issues users often run into, and what’s actually happening:

• “I turned off Favorites, but I still see hearts.” The hearts still appear on songs because they are a rating mechanism. The setting only hides the Favorites section and stops the mix from updating. It does not remove the ability to heart songs.
• “My Favorites Mix disappeared.” This is expected if you turned off the setting. The mix is tied to the Favorites feature. Turn it back on and the mix will return (though it may take a day to repopulate).
• “I favorited a song, but it doesn’t show in the Favorites section.” Make sure you’re viewing the right library filter. On iPhone, go to Library > Songs, then tap the filter button (three lines) and select “Favorites.” On Mac, use the sidebar and select “Favorites” under Library.
• “Does turning off Favorites stop Apple from tracking me?” No. Apple still collects your listening data for analytics and recommendations. The setting only controls the explicit favorites signal.

How to Choose the Right Setting for You

Your choice depends on how you use Apple Music:

• Keep it ON if: You actively heart songs and want a quick way to see them all in one place. You enjoy the Favorites Mix and want it to reflect your explicit choices. You like the “Automatic Favorites” feature that learns from your listening.
• Turn it OFF if: You never use the heart button and find the Favorites section cluttering your library. You want your recommendations to be based purely on your listening habits, not on occasional hearts. You find the Automatic Favorites feature annoying (it may favorite songs you don’t really like).

There’s no right or wrong answer. Many users find that keeping it on gives better recommendations because the explicit signal is stronger than implicit listening. Others prefer to let Apple’s algorithms do the work without manual input.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off Favorites delete my hearted songs?

No. Your favorites are stored on your Apple Music account and are not deleted when you disable the setting. They simply become hidden from the Favorites section and are no longer used for the Favorites Mix. If you re-enable the setting, all your hearts are still there.

Does the Favorites setting affect my New Music Mix or Chill Mix?

Indirectly, yes. The Favorites signal is one of many inputs Apple uses to generate all personalized mixes. Turning it off removes that explicit input, so your New Music Mix may become less tailored to your favorite genres and artists. However, Apple still uses your listening history, so the mix will not be random.

Can I favorite an album or artist, and does that count?

Yes. You can heart an album or artist from their page. This adds them to your Favorites section and signals to Apple that you like that artist or album as a whole. The Favorites Mix will then include songs from those albums and artists more frequently.

Why do some songs get a heart automatically?

In recent iOS versions, Apple Music can automatically favorite songs based on your listening patterns (e.g., if you listen to a song multiple times or skip it rarely). This is controlled by the “Automatic Favorites” toggle, which is part of the Favorites setting. If you don’t want automatic hearts, turn that off specifically.

Does the Favorites setting sync across my devices?

Yes. Your favorites and the setting itself are tied to your Apple ID and sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android (via the Apple Music app). If you turn it off on one device, it turns off everywhere.

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