FAQ

About the project

Is Unwrap a real product I can rely on?

Unwrap is a student project with a demo built as part of a university programme, not a commercial service. It's free, but:

• It doesn't have the security audits or reliability guarantees of a commercial app.
• The team is small.
• The product may change, break, or go offline without notice.

How does Unwrap make money?

It doesn't. There are no ads, no paid plans, no premium features. It's a learning project that happens to be useful.

Is Unwrap affiliated with Spotify?

No. Unwrap uses Spotify's public OAuth API to read your listening data, the same way thousands of third-party apps do. Spotify hasn't endorsed, sponsored, or reviewed Unwrap.

Trying the demo

Do I need a Spotify account to try Unwrap?

No. The demo includes a try-it-without-signing-in mode that drops you into a populated demo account with example listening data. Click Connect with Spotify on the homepage. In demo mode, this signs you in as a demo user without actually contacting Spotify.

Is the data I see in the demo mine?

If you used the Connect with Spotify button on the demo without going through the real Spotify OAuth flow, you're looking at mock data seeded into a fake account, not your real listening history. The demo is meant to show off the dashboard with realistic-looking data.

To see your real data, you'd need a deployment connected to a real backend with a real Spotify OAuth integration.

Signing in and connecting

What does Unwrap do with my Spotify login?

Unwrap requests read-only access to your Spotify account. It can:

• Identify you (your Spotify ID and display name).
• Read your listening history.

It cannot:

• Post anything.
• Modify your playlists, library, or playback.
• See your password.

You can revoke access any time at spotify.com/account/apps.

Can I connect more than one service?

Settings supports multiple connected services (e.g. Spotify and Apple Music), however this feature is not fully implemented. Only Spotify is currently supported.

I clicked "Connect with Spotify" and nothing happened

If you're using the demo, the button should drop you straight into a demo account. If it doesn't, refresh the page and try again. If it still fails, try again later or open an issue.

Uploading data

Why can't I just connect my Spotify account and see all my data?

Spotify's standard API only exposes the last 50 tracks per query and a few aggregated stats. The full lifetime history is only available through Spotify's GDPR data export, which they email to you on request. That's why Unwrap has a separate upload step.

How long does Spotify take to send my data?

Up to 30 days, but usually a few days.

What format does Unwrap expect?

A .zip file from Spotify's Extended Streaming History export. Don't unzip it.

See Upload your data

Privacy and data

What does Unwrap store about me?

See Privacy.

How do I delete everything?

Settings → Delete account. This removes your account and all associated data permanently.

Where is my data stored?

In a database operated by the project team on a separate repository to the frontend.

Troubleshooting

I can't sign back in after deleting my account

That's by design. Deleting your account removes your record from Unwrap entirely. Sign in again to create a fresh account, or just don't. That's the choice Delete account gives you.

Getting help

For bugs, feature requests, or questions not covered here, open an issue on GitHub.