Focus Mode in iOS 17.2 will not add any guilty pleasures to your Listening History in Apple Music

It’s not a coincidence that the more Tom Waits songs you listen to, the more Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison recommendations you get in your music streaming service of choice – that’s how listening history and algorithms work.

Now, if you want to make a slight detour from Eric Clapton and listen to Cardi B for a change, you can do so – the best part is, without screwing up royally your “normal” playlists and suggestions.

In iOS 17.2, which is now available to developers as a beta, there’s a new Focus Filter that lets users disable Apple Music’s Listening History only when a specific Focus Mode is turned on (via 9to5Mac). Sure, you can turn off or on your Listening History in general whenever you want to, but this new filter is actually very practical.

So, let’s repeat – your Listening History is turned on, but when the Focus Mode is also on, the songs you play won’t be added to your history and thus won’t make it to your recommendations playlist. Think of this new feature as an incognito tab.

This could come as a gift from heaven for parents who play children’s music for their kids but don’t want to find their own playlists chock full of “If You're Happy and You Know It” in fifteen cover variants.

The feature also works when you want to listen to something specific without your friends knowing. Instead of having to turn Listening History off completely, you can simply put it on hold temporarily with a Focus Mode.