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.
Use the Shazam app
If you have the Shazam app installed on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac, you can use the app to identify songs and save them to your library.
- Open the Shazam app on your device.
- Tap or click the Shazam button
to identify what’s playing around you.
When Shazam has identified the song, it will be saved in My Music, along with your other Shazams.
After you've identified a song, you can connect to Apple Music and other music services to listen to the full song.
If you don’t have an Internet connection, the app will still create a unique digital fingerprint to match against the Shazam database next time your device is connected to the Internet. If a song can’t be identified, it will disappear from your pending Shazams.
Use Auto Shazam
To enable Shazam to automatically identify what’s playing around you, touch and hold (or double-click on Mac) the Shazam button . When Auto Shazam is on, Shazam will match 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.
You can then find the Shazams identified with Auto-Shazam in My Music, grouped together by date.
To turn off Auto Shazam, tap or click the Shazam button.
Use Shazam in Control Centre on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
You can Shazam songs directly from Control Centre on your iPhone or on your iPad.* To add Shazam to Control Centre, go to Settings > Control Centre, then tap the Add button 
next to Music Recognition.
To identify songs from Control Centre, tap the Shazam button to identify what's currently being played on your device or around you. Shazam can identify songs being played on your device even if you're using headphones.
To see the songs you've identified in Control Centre, touch and hold the Shazam button to open your History View. Tap any song in your History View to open it in the Shazam app or in an App Clip on your device. To add that song to your library in the Shazam app, tap the More button 
, then tap Add to My Music.
* Requires iOS or iPadOS 14.2 or later.
More ways to identify music
- On iPhone or iPad, 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 Shazam tracks.
- To identify music from the menu bar of your Mac, get Shazam for Mac from the Mac App Store.
- On HomePod, say “Hey Siri, Shazam this song”.
- Use the Shazam It action to add music recognition to your Shortcuts.
See your previous Shazams
You can see your previous Shazams in the Shazam app on your device and online when you create a Shazam account.
- On iPhone or iPad, swipe up on the main Shazam screen to access My Music.
- On Mac, recent Shazams will appear below the Shazam button.
- On Apple Watch, recent Shazams will appear below the Shazam button, and will also be saved to My Music on the paired iPhone.
- To access your Shazams on your other Apple devices and online at shazam.com/myshazam, you can save your Shazams in iCloud. This also ensures you won't lose your Shazams if something happens to your device.
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've 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 you've purchased, open the Apple Music app and tap the Library tab.
- To download music to listen to offline, tap the Download button
.
If you can't see the Buy on iTunes button, you still may be able to purchase the song. Visit the iTunes Store to check.
Change your settings
In the Shazam app, swipe up to My Music from the main Shazam screen, then tap the Settings button 
to adjust Shazam settings.
- Control Notifications from Shazam.
- To enable Shazam to automatically start listening when the app is opened, turn on “Shazam on app start”.
- Use iCloud to back up your Shazams.
Microphone settings on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
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 and tap Shazam, then turn on Microphone. If you can't see an option for Microphone, you may have restrictions turned on for Privacy settings.
Get help
Still need help? Contact Apple Support.
Learn more
- Use Shazam on Android devices.
- You can create a Shazam account to keep track of all your Shazams and view them on www.shazam.com/myshazam.
- In addition to Apple Music, you can connect Shazam to other services, such as Snapchat and Spotify.
- Find out more about Shazam's Terms & Conditions.
- Find out more about Shazam & Privacy.