What is the _PLAYMUSICID file format?
._PLAYMUSICID is a tiny plain-text marker file created by the Google Play Music Android app alongside cached audio tracks on a device's external storage. The file contains a single line: a unique identifier string - an account- and track-specific token - that the app used to associate a locally cached song with the authenticated Google account that downloaded it.
These files contain no audio data and cannot be played. They were stored in the /Android/data/com.google.android.music/ directory on external SD card storage, sitting next to the actual cached audio file. Their purpose was digital rights management: by tying cached files to an account token, Google Play Music could prevent unauthorized sharing of downloaded tracks.
Google Play Music was shut down in October 2020, at which point all caching stopped and no new ._PLAYMUSICID files were created. YouTube Music replaced the service using a completely different internal storage scheme. Any ._PLAYMUSICID files found on an Android device today are legacy artifacts from before the shutdown.
The files are trivially readable in any text editor and contain no structured metadata beyond the identifier token. They carry no registered MIME type or file association on modern Android versions.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWInert text file containing a UUID; no executable content, no malware risk. Safe to delete.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open _PLAYMUSICID files
Windows1 app
Android1 app
Any text editor (e.g. Files by Google)
Free Open with a text editor to view the identifier string. No functional use - file can simply be deleted. Technical details
deep spec| Content | Single-line account/track unique identifier token |
| Encoding | UTF-8 plain text |
| Typical size | Under 1 KB (a few dozen bytes) |
| Purpose | Associates a cached audio file with the Google account that downloaded it |
| DRM role | Account-binding token to prevent unauthorized sharing of cached tracks |
| Storage path | `/Android/data/com.google.android.music/` on external SD card |
| Platform | Android only |
| Associated service | Google Play Music (service shut down October 2020) |
| Successor service | YouTube Music - uses a different storage format and does not create this file type |
| Audio content | None - contains only an identifier string; not playable |
| Current status | Legacy artifact; no new files created after service shutdown |
| Released | ~2012 (Google Play Music launched November 2011) |
| Latest version | N/A (service discontinued October 2020; no new files created) |
Community Q&A
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