It was released on 31 October 2019, through Garrix's Netherlands-based record label Stmpd Rcrds, and exclusively licensed to Epic Amsterdam, a division of Sony Music.

It's a real collaboration with a guy who's now become a great friend.Garrix felt it was amazing to make the song with Lewis, who he considers as "a good friend and an exciting talent".

She felt the song swelling and compelling "in the same style as many of Springsteen's biggest and most grandiose hits", noting that "Lewis' soaring vocals add to the effect" and that "all these elements making yet another bonafide smash from the EDM hitmaker".

[14] Mike Wass of Idolator deemed the song "an emotional banger" and "a duo's genre-blurring bop", containing Dean Lewis vocals "over piano keys and strummed guitar".

[18] Writing for Your EDM, Matthew Meadow said that the track is "usual Garrix fare, with some quaint vocal chops in the drop and a non-intrusive melody".

He also spotted similarities with Martin Garrix previous songs, such as "No Sleep" or "There for You", but noted that "Used to Love" showed off "a more mellow side to his sound, rather than the firework-inducing main stage bangers most people know him for".

[19] In an article written later he remarked that releasing the single on Halloween day was "a bit of an odd choice for such an uplifting song as this".

He called the single "a future bass inspired sound" endowed with "an uplifting vivacity" thanks to "Lewis' piano parts and vocals" which "are the cherry on top" and giving to the song "a bright and summery feeling".