Shazam is for anyone who hears a song in a shop, a video or a TikTok clip and wants the title right away. Apple Inc. makes it, it is free, and it has no ads or in-app purchases. It can also catch tracks offline, list nearby concerts and keep a history of everything you identified.
Naming a song you cannot search for
The problem is simple. You hear music, you have no lyrics to type, and the moment passes. Shazam listens through the microphone and returns the track and artist, then lets you open it in a streaming service.
It also works when the music is not in the room. The app can recognize songs while you wear headphones or play audio in a different app, which covers clips in Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.
Notification bar, Quicktile and the Home Screen widget
Speed depends on how few taps it takes. There are three shortcuts: a control in the Notification Bar, a Quicktile, and a Shazam Widget for the Home Screen. Each lets you identify a song without opening the full app first.
Auto Shazam goes further. It can keep searching for more than one song after you leave the app. Everything you identify is saved in your library, so you can return to the history later.
After a match, the app suggests similar songs and playlists. It can also show live music shows near you from artists you like, or from curated recommendations. Songs can open in Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music or Deezer.
Permissions to review before you install
Four permissions are optional. Microphone is used to hear the song, Location shows where songs were identified and lists events nearby, Notification sends personalized alerts, and Share Screen lets the app read device audio when headphones are connected.
You can use Shazam without granting any of them, though some features may then be missing. Availability and features also vary by country. The content rating on Google Play is Teen.
Shazam pros and cons
Pros
- Free, with no ads and no in-app purchases
- Recognizes songs while offline, on headphones or from another app
- Notification Bar, Quicktile and Home Screen widget shortcuts
- Opens songs in Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music or Deezer
- Rated 4.8 on Google Play across 12.3 million ratings
Cons
- Some features depend on optional permissions such as location and microphone
- Availability and features vary by country
- Rated Teen on Google Play
- Version history is hard to follow from the app page alone
Is Shazam safe?
Shazam is rated Teen, costs nothing and shows no ads or in-app purchases. It needs the microphone to listen for songs, so check the privacy policy from Apple Inc. before you grant that permission.
How to install Shazam
- Press the Google Play button on this page.
- Check the listing in the Play Store and press Install.
- Open Shazam when the install finishes. Updates arrive through Google Play.
