For ages, Spotify has allowed you to sync your own local audio files to your phone via its desktop client, though that never reliably worked for many people. It looks like the janky solution might be in for an overhaul, as app sleuth Jane Manchun Wong shared on Twitter. The streaming service appears to be working on an option to show local files.

Jane Wong dug into the Spotify code and managed to activate a toggle in settings that reads "Show device files: Show all audio files on your device in Your Library." That's as self-explanatory as it gets — once you switch on the toggle, you should be able to see and play any audio saved to your phone. We don't know how exactly these files will appear in your library and if they'll seamlessly blend in with Spotify's streaming catalog when you hit shuffle. Competitor YouTube Music hermetically separates locally available files and uploads from its streaming service portion, so let's hope that Spotify integrates it better.

As far as we can tell, the toggle isn't available for regular users who don't tamper with the code, and it's unclear if the feature is already functional for Jane Wong. It might also be scrapped altogether before we ever see it in action. In any case, it's a step in the right direction and might prompt some disgruntled ex-Play Music users who dislike YouTube Music to switch, though it remains to be seen how exactly Spotify will handle local files.

Source: @wongmjane

Thanks: Armando