Deezer has introduced new controls for its flagship recommendation feature Flow, giving listeners more direct control over the recommendation algorithm.
The French streaming service on Friday (February 13) rolled out ‘Flow Tuner,’ an update to its flagship Flow product that now lets users activate or deactivate specific genres and subgenres.
The company explained that Flow Tuner adjusts recommendations in real time instead of relying on likes, dislikes or skips.
Marin Lorant, Head of Product at Deezer, said: “Flow Tuner is based on a simple idea: recommendations should not be a black box. Our users want to find the right music for the right moment, and have the control to impact how this happens.
“By allowing them to activate, remove or explore genres with a single gesture, the algorithm becomes a tool that they can shape themselves. It’s more accurate, more personal, and it opens the door to more discovery.”
“Flow Tuner is based on a simple idea: recommendations should not be a black box. Our users want to find the right music for the right moment, and have the control to impact how this happens.”
Marin Lorant, Deezer
Deezer launched Flow in 2014 to deliver an endless, personalized stream of songs based on a user’s listening behavior. The system analyzes activity including saved songs, followed artists and genre preferences to refine future suggestions. Over time, Deezer expanded the feature to include different moods and genres to choose from.
With Flow Tuner, Deezer says it is adding more controls for users. Users can switch genres on or off, introduce new ones to broaden recommendations to influence current and future listening sessions, the company said.
The latest release also highlights Deezer’s position on artificial intelligence in music distribution. Deezer said AI-generated tracks will not be included in Flow Tuner’s algorithmic recommendations.
Last year, Deezer filed two patents for an AI detection tool, which it says can discover “fully AI-generated tracks.” Deezer has since published periodic updates on how many tracks the tool has flagged. Three weeks ago, Deezer said it was now receiving over 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day, and is moving to license its AI detection tool to the wider music industry.
Flow Tuner builds on earlier personalization updates, according to Deezer. Since April, users have been able to adjust musical preferences through a dedicated algorithm settings area within the app.
The company said the new feature is part of its strategy to make recommendations more adaptable to users’ listening patterns.
The launch came two months after Spotify introduced its Prompted Playlist feature in beta, which lets users turn text prompts – ranging from short and general to long and detailed – into playlists, augmented by the user’s entire listening history and broader music trends.
Spotify at the time said it’s the first time that a user’s entire history will be part of the playlist creation process, and claims to be “giving users the power to steer the algorithm.”
Meanwhile, Deezer has expanded its product offerings in recent years with features like Shaker, Music Quiz, Songcatcher, My Deezer Year, and My Deezer Month.
Founded in 2007 in Paris, the company is listed on the Paris Euronext with a market capitalization of EUR €137 million (approx. USD $162 million). According to its “My Deezer Year 2025,” which mirrors a format made popular by Spotify Wrapped, Deezer users globally averaged 122.8 hours of music listening in 2025, streaming more than 691 songs from 402 artists while discovering 357 new tracks.
In Q3 2025, Deezer reported a 1.1% YoY drop in revenues to €131.4 million ($155m) at constant currency, as growth in its Direct subscriber business offset an anticipated decline in its Partnerships segment.
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