How to Use Waze to Play Spotify

Drive safely and with your favorite tunes by combining Waze and Spotify

Driving Waze Spotify Navigation App Safely

Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

by Amanda Derrick
Amanda Derrick is a mechanical engineer, business strategist, and freelance writer who has written for USAF Civil Service, ATK, and Boeing.
Updated March 21, 2019

Having a navigation app like Waze is super convenient, as is streaming music through Spotify. Instead of having the two apps compete against each other for audio domination, here's how to link your Waze and Spotify accounts to have simplified (and safe) Spotify control within the Waze app.

How to Set Up Spotify and Waze Integration

In an effort to save you from yourself, Spotify within Waze is designed to only let you browse content when your vehicle isn't moving (or you tell the app you're a passenger). You can circumvent this by going directly to the Spotify app, but it's better to keep your eyes on the road.

  1. Downloaded and sign into the Waze and Spotify apps.

  2. Launch Spotify, then tap Your Library in the bottom right corner.

  3. Tap the gear icon in the top right corner to open Spotify's settings.

  4. Tap Social, then toggle on Waze Navigation.

    Enable Spotify to link with Waze

    As noted by the warning from Spotify when you enable Waze, none of this should be done by someone who is driving.

  5. A blue banner will appear and prompt you to go to Waze. If you agree, Waze will launch and ask if you'd like to connect Waze to your Spotify account. Tap Okay, and the floating Spotify icon will appear on your Waze map.

How to Link Waze and Spotify Using the Waze App

If you don't follow the above steps, but still need to link Waze and Spotify, you can do so in the Waze app.

  1. Open Waze and tap the Magnifier in the bottom left, then tap the Gear at the top left to open Waze's settings.

  2. Scroll down and tap Audio Player.

  3. Here you'll be able to turn the audio player floating map icon on/off, decide if you want next song notifications, and allow various audio players (including Spotify) to access Waze. Toggle Spotify to On and you should now see a floating Spotify icon (green dot) on your Waze map.

    Spotify Waze listener bar Waze app authorization

  4. Tap Spotify to open a simplified Spotify menu directly within Waze, enabling you to quickly see your list of stations, and skip, rewind, or pause your current song.

    Spotify menu in Waze easy navigation skip songs pause

  5. You're done!