Privacy-First Spotify Controller for Graduate Students
No credentials, no browsing history, and local-only analytics.
💡 Overview
People who care about focus tend to care about privacy too. Months-long writing needs sustained, uninterrupted focus.
Spotify-Web Playback Controller states that it collects no Spotify credentials, passwords or personal information, and does not request access to browsing history. Its host permission covers only open.spotify.com. Focus insights are stored on your own device, and it does not log tracks or listening stats in Incognito mode. Optional anonymous diagnostics have their own toggle.
🧭 A Day of Graduate Students
Months-long writing needs sustained, uninterrupted focus.
The problem: Small interruptions pile up over a long project.
The fix: Remove the friction by keeping every music action on a key.
🚀 Try It in Three Steps
- Read the permissions on the Chrome Web Store page before installing.
- Review the privacy policy linked from the listing.
- Turn off optional diagnostics in the dashboard if you prefer.
✨ What You Get
- Zero-polling design: A MutationObserver updates the UI only when the page changes, keeping CPU and memory use low.
- Local focus analytics: Daily and weekly focus time, a seven-day chart and top artists and tracks, all stored on your device.
- Floating mini-player: Popup with play, pause, next, previous, shuffle, repeat, seek and a Liked Songs toggle.
| Task | Switching tabs | Spotify-Web Playback Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Volume change | Open the tab, drag a slider | Scroll the mouse wheel over the popup |
| Skipping a track | Switch window, click next, switch back | Shift+Alt+Right from any window |
| Pausing music | Find the tab, click pause, return | One keystroke |
| Focus impact | Context switch every time | Your work window keeps focus |
Note: it works with the Spotify Web Player at open.spotify.com only, and does not control the desktop app.
📸 See It in Action
Mini-Player
Dashboard
Shortcuts
Control Spotify Without Leaving Your Work
Global-capable hotkeys, a mini-player and local-only analytics for the Spotify Web Player.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
No. The extension states it never collects Spotify credentials, passwords or personal info.
You must enable Allow in incognito under chrome://extensions. It does not log tracks or listening stats in private browsing.
It can be if you spend your day writing a thesis. Remove the friction by keeping every music action on a key.