How to use Spotify's new Playlist in a Bottle feature to make a musical time capsule that you can open next year

• Spotify's new "Playlist in a Bottle" feature lets you make a time capsule of your current favorite music.
• Once you make your Playlist in a Bottle time capsule, it'll be sealed away until January 2024.
• The Playlist in a Bottle feature is available until January 31 for both free and premium Spotify users.

It's the start of a new year, which means it's time to look forward into the future — exactly one year into the future, if you're a Spotify listener.

Spotify just launched a new feature called "Playlist in a Bottle," which lets you make a time capsule with at least three songs for your future self. Once you finish the playlist, it'll disappear until January 2024, giving you a nostalgic snapshot of what you were listening to in early 2023.

The Playlist in a Bottle feature is available to both free and premium Spotify users until January 31. Once February starts, it'll disappear.

How to make a 'Playlist in a Bottle' with Spotify

Before anything, make sure that you're logged into the Spotify app on your phone, and that it's fully updated. 

When you're ready, head to the Playlist in a Bottle homepage using your phone. If the link leads you to Spotify's app store page, just tap Open.

Tap Get Started, then pick the item that you want to keep your time capsule playlist in: A bottle, a pocket, a gumball machine, a lunch box, or a teddy bear.

Once you've picked an item, you can start choosing what songs you want to save. To help with this, Spotify will give you prompts to answer — for example, "A song you need to hear live in 2023," or "A song you're secretly obsessed with."

Just tap the empty box below the question to browse for the song you want. You can also tap Random to have Spotify choose the song for you, or tap New Question to see a different prompt.

You only need to pick three songs, but you can add as many as you want — just tap Keep Going once you add the third track. But once you're ready to finalize your time capsule, tap I'm Done.

Review your playlist choices. To change your picks, tap any of the songs you chose; to add more, tap Add Songs; and to finish, tap Lock In.

Once you've locked in your choices, Spotify will seal up the playlist and give you a card you can share on social media to tell others what you picked.

In January 2024, Spotify will unseal the playlist and send it to you for a nostalgic jamfest.