Common questions about importing your streaming history into stats.fm.
How often do I need to import my streaming history?
You only need to import once. After your first import, stats.fm keeps your streaming history up to date automatically. How often the sync runs depends on your plan and streaming service:
- Spotify Plus/Pro users: synced every minute
- Apple Music Plus/Pro users: synced about every 50 minutes
- Free users: automatic sync isn't currently available on the free plan
You don't need to reimport unless something has gone wrong with your data.
Why does the app show a different number of streams than my imported file?
You may notice the total number of streams in your imported files doesn't match what shows up in your stats. That's because stats.fm filters out some streams to keep your stats meaningful:
- Tracks you skipped
- Streams shorter than 30 seconds
- Local files and podcasts (since Spotify and Apple Music don't share data about these)
These streams are kept in your data but hidden from your stats.
Differences between calculation methods
You may have noticed there are several ways to sort your top tracks, artists, and albums. Here's what each method does.
Default (Spotify's algorithm)
By default, your top items are ranked using Spotify's own algorithm. This is the same method other Spotify stats services use. Spotify hasn't documented exactly how the ranking works, but it's known to weigh factors like play frequency, recency, completion rate, and behavioral patterns. The order updates as you listen, so your top items naturally shift over time.
Advantages:
- Can be a little faster
Disadvantages:
- Limited to predefined time ranges
- Can sometimes miss items you've actually streamed a lot
Count
This option sorts by the actual number of streams of each item, which is much more accurate. To use count sorting, you'll need to import your lifetime streaming history. Selecting count also lets you see lists longer than 99 items (the Spotify API limit) and select custom time ranges.
Advantages:
- More accurate
- Custom time ranges
- Faster than the default ranking
Disadvantages:
- Requires a one-time import of your history
Time played
Like count, this option is much more accurate than the default ranking, but it sorts by total time listened rather than number of streams. To use time played sorting, you'll need to import your lifetime streaming history. Selecting time played also lets you see lists longer than 99 items and select custom time ranges.
Advantages:
- More accurate
- Custom time ranges
- Faster than the default ranking
- Longer songs (like mashups or specific genres) appear higher in the list
Disadvantages:
- Requires a one-time import of your history
There are no valid files present in the files I received
If the import process tells you there are no valid files, it's most likely because you requested the wrong data package from Spotify. There are three different packages, and only one of them is the right one for importing into stats.fm:
| Type of data | Description | Data preparation time |
|---|---|---|
| Account data | Basic account information, one year of streaming data | About 5 days |
| Technical log information | Variety of technical log information Spotify has collected about you | Up to 30 days |
| Extended streaming history data | Lifetime streaming history information | Up to 30 days, usually 2-3 weeks |
Only the Extended streaming history data package includes the correct files to import. The other two packages can't be imported, so if those are what you received, you'll need to request the right package separately.
To check which package you have, look at the email Spotify sent you when your data was ready.
What if Spotify hasn't sent the Extended streaming history yet?
You may have requested other packages first, in which case the right package might still be processing on Spotify's end. To check:
- Open your Spotify privacy page and log in
- Look at the panel for "Extended streaming history data"
- If it shows the package is still being processed, you just need to wait — these typically take 2-3 weeks
- If you haven't requested it yet, tick the checkbox for "Extended streaming history" and hit the request data button
Once your file is ready, continue with step 2 of the Spotify import guide.