Hush

Ad-free listening for Spotify on Android — no root, no modified Spotify app.

Download · How it works · Security · Changelog

Hush runs alongside the official Spotify app. The moment Spotify starts an ad break, Hush restarts Spotify in the background — which discards the entire break — and your music continues a few seconds later. An optional on-device DNS filter, applied to Spotify only, can also remove video ads and the playback freezes they cause.

Since 2.0 Hush is the only app you need: it pairs with Android's Wireless debugging by itself and starts its own small helper. Shizuku still works if you already use it.

Once: setup. Hush pairs with Android's Wireless debugging like a computer would, and starts its own small helper with the same rights as adb shell. The helper answers only Hush and can do only a fixed list of actions.

flowchart LR
    P["Pair once<br/>six-digit code in<br/>Hush's notification"] --> K["Hush keeps its own key<br/>(encrypted, on the phone)"]
    K --> H["Hush starts its helper<br/>fixed actions only,<br/>answers only Hush"]

Every ad break. Spotify keeps an ad break only in memory, so a cold restart resumes the queue at the next song. Spotify is started again the way a headset play button starts it: no screen appears, and a locked phone stays locked.

flowchart LR
    A["Spotify<br/>plays an ad"] --> B("Hush detects it<br/>from the ad ID or flag")
    B --> C["Helper stops Spotify (30–90 ms),<br/>it restarts in the background"]
    C --> D["Music resumes,<br/>ad break gone"]

Looks after itself. Skipping never stops without you being told.

flowchart TD
    X{"Helper running?"} -->|yes| S["Ads are skipped"]
    X -->|no| R["Hush starts it again (about 1.5 s)"]
    R -->|"can't: Wireless debugging off,<br/>no Wi-Fi, pairing forgotten"| M["Ads are muted, and one<br/>Skipping paused notice says why"]
    M -->|"tap it, or by itself after a<br/>reboot or when Wi-Fi is back"| R

The tricky parts (Spotify's media-button intent being cancelled by a force-stop, keeping the screen state untouched, Android's background-audio rules, the pairing protocol and the reboot handling) are documented with measurements in docs/HOW-IT-WORKS.md.

Measured on one phone with Spotify 9.1 (free tier), real ads and test skips, against 1.0.3. Numbers vary a little between phones.

• Android 11 or newer to skip ads. Wi-Fi is needed only to pair and to start Hush's helper (once after each reboot), because Android turns on Wireless debugging only on Wi-Fi. After that, skipping works on mobile data too. On Android 8 to 10 Hush can skip through Shizuku started from a computer, or mutes ads.
• The official Spotify app (free tier)

Install and set up Hush from scratch in under a minute: pairing, permissions and the first skipped ad.

1. Download Hush-<version>.apk from the latest release and open it. Allow installing from your browser if Android asks.

2. Open Hush and tap the power button. Hush asks for what it needs, one step at a time:

   Permission	Why
   Notification access	Read Spotify's "now playing" information to recognise ads. Android calls this "notification read, reply & control"; Hush doesn't read your notifications
   VPN (only if you turn on Block ad servers)	The local DNS filter (Spotify's DNS lookups only)
   Wireless debugging (pair once)	Start Hush's helper, which restarts Spotify when an ad starts
   Notifications	Status, a Turn off button, and problem alerts
   Unrestricted battery	Keep working while the phone is locked

3. Hush opens Set up skipping. It takes about two minutes, once:

   1. Turn on Developer options: tap Open, then tap Build number seven times (in About phone). Come back to Hush.
   2. Pair Hush: tap Pair. Hush opens Developer options. Turn on Wireless debugging (allow it on your Wi-Fi), open it and tap Pair device with pairing code.
   3. Pull down the notification shade. In Hush's notification Enter the pairing code (expand it if it shows only its title), tap Enter code and type the six digits shown in Settings. Hush pairs and starts its helper; the notification changes to Skipping is ready.

   Some phone makers need one extra switch in Developer options; Hush shows that step only on those phones. Already using Shizuku? Hush uses it too, and you can skip this.

4. Back in Hush, allow Notification access and Unrestricted battery when asked.

5. Optional: turn on Restart automatically after a reboot. Hush tests once (about 10 seconds) whether your phone keeps its helper running with Wireless debugging off, keeps it off if so, and shows the result.

6. Play something on Spotify and tap Test ad skip to hear the music come back.

• Power button — turns Hush on or off. The notification also has a Turn off button.
• When an ad plays — Skip (restart Spotify), Mute, or Do nothing.
• Sleep timer — use this instead of Spotify's timer; it survives ad skips.
• DNS rules — view or edit the filter (block, nxdomain, redirect, ip, upstream).
• Restart automatically after a reboot — Hush brings skipping back by itself after a restart (Android 13+). Turn it off and on again to repeat the phone test.
• Test ad skip — restarts Spotify now, to check that your music comes back.
• Recent activity — every ad break, skip and change, with timings. If Hush's helper can't start, the reason is shown here too.

• Restoring the previous playlist works for playlists and albums, not for an artist's "Popular" list.

Hush holds two powerful capabilities — adb-level rights through its own helper (or Shizuku) and a VPN — and is built so neither can be misused: the helper answers only Hush and runs only a fixed list of actions, every value passed to it is validated and quoted, the DNS forwarder accepts replies only from its resolver, all data stays in private storage and is excluded from backups, and release builds do not log what you play. Details, and how to report a vulnerability privately, are in SECURITY.md.

Requires JDK 17 and the Android SDK (API 35).

git clone https://github.com/coldMEW/Hush.git
cd Hush/android
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest      # unit tests
./gradlew assembleDebug          # debug build (installs alongside a release build)
./gradlew assembleRelease        # release build, see signing below

Release builds are signed with a key that is not in this repository. To sign your own, create ~/.gradle/hush-signing.properties (or set HUSH_SIGNING to another path):

storeFile=/path/to/keystore.jks
storePassword=…
keyAlias=…
keyPassword=…

Without it, assembleRelease produces an unsigned APK.

android/app/src/main/java/io/coldmew/hush/
├── AdWatcher.java          notification listener: reads Spotify's media session, detects ads
├── Skipper.java            the restart-skip: force-stop, restart, resume
├── SleepTimer.java         Hush's own sleep timer
├── DnsVpnService.java      Spotify-only DNS filter (VpnService)
├── Dns.java, Rules.java    DNS packet handling and rules
├── Shell.java              one entry point: Hush's helper, else Shizuku
├── HelperControl.java      starts and watches the helper, reboot and per-phone test
├── HelperSetupActivity     guided pairing with Wireless debugging
├── PairingService.java     finds the pairing port, takes the code from the notification
├── adb/                    small adb client: key, pairing (SPAKE2), TLS connection, mDNS
├── helper/                 the helper process and its fixed command table
├── MainActivity.java       main screen
├── ShizukuSetupActivity    guided Shizuku setup (optional)
└── Hush.java, Prefs.java, Events.java, …
docs/HOW-IT-WORKS.md        design notes and measurements

• v1.0.1 — no audio gap after skips, including with the phone locked
• v1.0.2 — no silent playback when Android freezes the restarted Spotify
• v1.0.3 — Spotify stays off screen during a skip, and its controls come back right away
• v2.0.0 — one app: no Shizuku needed, self-healing, optional automatic restart after a reboot
• v2.0.1 — fixes for playlist switches during an ad, the end-of-song timer, recovery when Wi-Fi is back, and smoother pairing
• v2.0.2 — DNS filter works on networks that block outside DNS (AdGuard Home, Pi-hole)
• ESP32 companion with similar features for speakers and other devices

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue: bugs and feature requests are handled in public. Pull requests are welcome too; see CONTRIBUTING.md. Security vulnerabilities are the one exception: please report those privately as described in SECURITY.md.

Hush is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Spotify AB; Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB. Blocking ads may be against Spotify's terms of service — use Hush at your own risk. If you enjoy Spotify, consider supporting artists with Spotify Premium.

Hush is free software, released under the GNU General Public License v3.0.