Apple Music Users Report Seeing Other People's Playlists in Their Libraries

Apple Music appears to be sparking serious privacy concerns for some users, with multiple complaints on Reddit about other people's playlists randomly appearing in their music libraries in the Music app.

music strange playlists 2
Redditor adh1003, who contacted MacRumors about the issue, has compiled several reports from users complaining about the appearance of strange playlists in the app that they do not recognize. MacRumors has since found other posts on Reddit from users reporting the same behavior.

In some cases, unknown playlists have been merged with users' existing playlists. In other cases, users' playlists have gone missing or been replaced by unrecognized ones.

Some users have expressed concerns that their Apple accounts have been hacked, but the more likely cause of the issue is an unspecified problem with Apple's iCloud server. Unsyncing and then re-syncing iCloud for the Music app (Settings -> Apple ID -> iCloud -> Show All) has worked for a handful of users, but not all.

Based on reports, the appearance of unrecognized playlists is only occurring in the Music app for iPhone, with the Music app for macOS remaining unaffected. User reports regarding the issue date back to mid February, suggesting the problem could be related to the release of iOS 16.3.1, which included a bug fix for iCloud settings.

Some users have contacted Apple support to resolve the issue but none have reported success. We've contacted Apple about the problem and will update this article if we learn more.

The issue is reminiscent of another iCloud bug that occurred last year in which some users reported videos and images from strangers appearing in their Photos library.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Resolutions Leak With Under-Screen Camera Tipped

Monday April 14, 2025 3:12 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold") will feature two screens as part of its book-style design, and a Chinese leaker claims to know the resolutions for both of them. According to the Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station, the inner display, which is approximately 7.76 inches, will use a 2,713 x 1,920 resolution and feature "under-screen camera technology." Meanwhile, the...
iPad Pro iPadOS

iPadOS 19 Will Be 'More Like macOS' in Three Ways

Sunday April 13, 2025 6:43 am PDT by
A common complaint about the iPad Pro is that the iPadOS software platform fails to fully take advantage of the device's powerful hardware. That could soon change. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS." Gurman said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like a Mac" in three ways:Improved productivity Improved multitasking Improved app window management...
Apple Vision Pro with battery Feature Blue Magenta

Vision Pro 2 Rumored to Have Two Key Advantages Over Current Model

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:15 am PDT by
Apple is working on a new version of the Vision Pro with two key advantages over the current model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Specifically, in his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is developing a new headset that is both lighter and less expensive than the current Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499 in the U.S. and weighs up to 1.5 pounds. Gurman said Apple is also...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
Apple Bristol Current

An Apple Store in the UK is Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday April 14, 2025 7:33 am PDT by
Apple has confirmed that it will be permanently closing its retail store in the heart of Bristol, England, and there is no replacement in sight. Apple Bristol in 2023 Apple Bristol will be closing its doors on Saturday, August 9, due to redevelopment plans at the Cabot Circus Shopping Centre, and the adjacent Bristol Shopping Quarter. According to news reports, and a building application, the ...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

Waiting for the Perfect MacBook Pro? 2026 Might Be the Year

Thursday April 10, 2025 4:19 am PDT by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...

Top Rated Comments

Burger Thing Avatar
27 months ago
As long as i don’t see a playlist with U2, I am cool with it…
Score: 95 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
27 months ago
At Apple, our top priority is your privacy and security...
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chester Stone Avatar
27 months ago
I wonder if this has to do with older devices being reset and sold, without completely erasing device linkage to the original owner's iCloud account. (just a theory)

This hasn't exactly happened to me in Music, but I've seen it happen where even after erasing an old device, the new user can see certain remnants even after restarting, such getting a 2FA notice, a random notification/password request, or having access to an iCloud Shared Photo Album until linking/creating anew. It's clear that a factory reset doesn't completely nuke the device of all traces of old account, with some pointers still server-side. (i.e. the device is reset, but it's still linked to an iCloud account from the user's iCloud page, or server-side device list.)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
27 months ago
This could be a fun way to get exposed to new music. (I know it's a bug but it seems like it's relatively harmless).

On a bug note. I have not seen this but there have been a few times I have not received pictures people send through iMessage.

Although, if we're talking about iCloud bugs, one time a few years ago my spouse sent me a picture of something through iMessage and I ended up with a random photo of someone’s child. I tried to figure why she sent me a random photo of a random child but quickly realized it was an iMessage/iCloud error. Bits crossed in the sending. Someone else likely received the image she sent — a picture of something at a store. That was the most random iCloud-related bug I've ever seen. It's mostly just funny because it was harmless (cute child playing and I quickly deleted the image) but it could have been a major issue if the crossed images had been more sensitive or private.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ApplesAreSweet&Sour Avatar
27 months ago
Nothing strange happening in my Music library. And it is all synced to iCloud.

Well, plenty of odd playlists and strange albums. But I’m to blame for all of it.



Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bryan Bowler Avatar
27 months ago
I have been dealing with strange syncing issues for about a month now and it’s driving me crazy. I have not noticed it in Apple Music yet, but no matter how many times I change notification settings in Find My and Weather, weird synching issues keep changing things back.

It’s become a major annoyance because I get anywhere from 40-60 Watch notifications a day that I left an Item behind and I cannot stop the notifications from happening.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)