How to Scan Songs on Spotify Using a Scan Code

Hint: The bar code is under the album cover art

By

Jerri Ledford

Updated on June 27, 2022

Reviewed by

Kayla Dube

Music, Podcasts, & Audio

What to Know

When listening to a song, tap the three-dot menu and have your friend(s) scan the bar code under the album art cover.
Use the camera option in Spotify's search bar to scan these codes and go directly to the item you want.

This article provides instructions on finding and scanning Spotify barcodes, which are available on both free and premium accounts so that you can share music with your friends.

How to Use Spotify Song Codes on Your Smartphone

You're listening to Spotify and come across a great song you want to share with your friends. You could share the tune through a messaging app, but there's an easier way. All you have to do is pull up the Spotify song code and let your friends scan it. Boom. Instant sharing.

To access a scan code, open the page for whatever you want to share. It can be a song, album, artist, or playlist.
Tap the three dots next to the heart icon.
You'll see the album cover art on the page that appears, and a barcode (the Spotify scan code) will display at the bottom of that image. Your friends can scan that from their Spotify app and immediately go to the artist's page, or the song, album, or playlist will begin playing automatically.

How to Use Spotify Song Codes on the Web App

Finding a Spotify song code on the web app works a little differently than it does when you're using your smartphone.

If you're listening to Spotify in a web browser, you won't be able to access the Spotify Code. You can only access it through the Spotify app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Open the song, artist, playlist, or album you want to share in the Spotify app.
Tap the three dot menu to the right of the heart icon.
Hove your mouse over the Share option in the menu that appears to expand the options.
Select Spotify Code to display the album art with the Spotify Code displayed so your friends can scan it.

Although there are options displayed on the Spotify Code window (Open, Search, Scan), these options are not active and cannot be used to scan a code from your computer.

How to Scan Songs on Spotify

If you're the person who wants to scan the code a friend is trying to share, it's a simple process.

To scan song codes on Spotify, you'll have to grant permission to Spotify to access your camera. If you prefer not to do that, you can't scan song codes when someone wants to share them with you.

Open your Spotify app and tap the Search option on the bottom toolbar.
On the search screen, tap the Camera icon to the right of the search bar.
If this is the first time you've used the scan option on Spotify, you may receive an information page explaining how Spotify Codes work. Tap Scan to continue and grant Spotify access to your camera.
Line up the Spotify code in the window on your screen, and it will scan automatically.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Tell us why!