Shazam identifies a song by creating a unique digital fingerprint to match what you’re hearing with one of the millions of songs in the Shazam database.
Identify songs with Shazam
To identify songs, you can use the Shazam app and Music Recognition in Control Center on iPhone and iPad, Shazam on Apple Watch and Mac, Siri, and more.
Use the Shazam app on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Shazam app on your device.
- Tap the Shazam button
to identify what’s playing around you.
You can find songs you've identified in My Music in the Shazam app. Songs you've identified are also backed up to iCloud.
After you identify a song, tap the play button next to a Shazam to listen to a preview. If you have an Apple Music subscription, you can listen to whole songs in Shazam. You can also connect Shazam to other music streaming services that Shazam supports.
If you don’t have an internet connection, the app still creates a unique digital fingerprint to match against the Shazam database the next time your device is connected to the internet. If a song can’t be identified, it will disappear from your pending Shazams.
Identify songs in Control Center on iPhone or iPad
With Music Recognition on iPhone or iPad, you can identify songs right from Control Center. To add Music Recognition to Control Center, go to Settings > Control Center, then tap the Add button 
next to Music Recognition.*
To identify songs, open Control Center, then tap the Shazam button . Shazam can identify songs playing on your device even when you're using headphones.
To find songs you've identified, touch and hold the Shazam button in Control Center to open your History View. Tap a song to open it in Shazam.
And if you've synced Music Recognition in Control Center with the Shazam app, songs you've identified appear in My Music in the Shazam app and are also backed up to iCloud.
* Requires iOS or iPad OS 14.2 or later.
Use Auto Shazam
To have Shazam automatically identify what’s playing around you, touch and hold the Shazam button . When Auto Shazam is on, Shazam matches what you’re hearing with songs in the Shazam database—even when you switch to another app. Shazam never saves or stores what it hears.
To turn off Auto Shazam, tap or click the Shazam button.
To have Shazam automatically start listening when you open the app on iPhone or iPad, swipe up to My Music from the main Shazam screen, tap the Settings button 
, then turn on “Shazam on app start.”
You can find songs identified with Auto Shazam in My Music, grouped together by date.
More ways to identify music
- On iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, or Mac, say “Hey Siri,” then ask what the song is.
- On iPhone or iPad, add the Shazam widget to identify music in the Today View.
- Use Shazam on your Apple Watch.
- To identify music from the menu bar of your Mac, get Shazam for Mac from the Mac App Store.
- Use the Shazam It action to add music recognition to your Shortcuts.
Find previous Shazams
To find previous Shazams on iPhone or iPad, swipe up on the main Shazam screen to access My Music. To delete a Shazam, tap the More button next to that Shazam, then tap “Remove from My Music.”
On Mac, recent Shazams appear below the Shazam button.
On Apple Watch, recent Shazams appear below the Shazam button and are also saved to My Music on the paired iPhone.
Back up your Shazams in iCloud on iPhone or iPad
When you first install Shazam on your iPhone or iPad, your Shazams are automatically backed up to iCloud. Make sure you're signed in with your Apple ID and that you've turned on iCloud for Shazam on your device.
When you back up your Shazams, you won't lose them if something happens to your device. You can also access your Shazams on your other devices when you sign in with the same Apple ID.
If you choose not to back up your Shazams in iCloud, they’re still saved on your device. You can back up your Shazams to iCloud at any time, unless you restored your device back to its factory settings or you get a new device.
Sync Music Recognition in Control Center with the Shazam App
When you turn on Music Recognition and Shazam in iCloud settings on your device, your song history is synced across the Shazam App and Control Center. In most cases, this happens automatically. Here’s what to do if it isn’t working:
- Make sure you've updated Shazam to the latest version.
- Make sure you have two-factor authentication set up for your Apple ID.
- Go to Settings > your name.
- Tap iCloud.
- Turn on Music Recognition.
- Turn on Shazam.
When you sync Shazam in Control Center with iCloud, your Shazams will no longer be available in your account at shazam.com. And because Shazam will no longer be storing your data, you won’t be able to get copy of your Shazam data from Shazam.com.
Buy songs you've Shazamed
You can buy songs you've Shazamed from the iTunes store.
- In Shazam, tap the More button
next to the song you Shazamed, then tap Buy on iTunes. - In the iTunes Store, tap the price next to the song to buy it.
- Sign in with your Apple ID and password to complete the purchase. Need help?
- To find the music that you purchased, open the Apple Music app and tap the Library tab.
- To download music to listen to offline, tap the Download button
.
If you don't see the Buy on iTunes button, you still might be able to purchase the song. Visit the iTunes Store to check.
Change microphone settings for Shazam on iPhone or iPad
Shazam needs access to the microphone on your device to hear what you're listening to. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, scroll down to the installed apps, tap Shazam, then turn on Microphone. If you don’t see an option for Microphone, you might have restrictions turned on for Privacy settings.
Get help
Still need help? Contact Apple Support.
Learn more
- Use Shazam on Android devices.
- Connect Shazam to other services like Snapchat and Spotify.
- Learn about Shazam's Terms & Conditions.
- Learn about Shazam and privacy.