Pocket Casts

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Pocket Casts

Basic Information
Release Year	2011
Product Type	Software
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://pocketcasts.com/

Pocket Casts is a podcast player for Android, iOS, and Web.

Consumer-impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

• User Freedom
• User Privacy
• Business Model
• Market Control

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• Business Model: Streaming service content, advertising overload

Incidents

Showing advertisements to Champion/Lifetime users (September 2025)

In September 2025, the parent company Automattic changed the app to display advertisements to users who had purchased a lifetime license for the Pocket Casts app. Support staff responded to complaints justifying the change as necessary to provide ongoing support and development of the app. Later, the CEO posted on Hacker News claiming that showing ads to users that had purchased a lifetime subscription was a bug.

See also

• Netflix
• Samsung ads in refrigerators