Pocket Casts Release Notes

With Pocket Casts version 8.4, we will be sunsetting the Radioactivity theme in our mobile apps.

This theme has not seen much use for a while, and it has also been responsible for a disproportionate number of UI glitches and edge case issues. In short, it has been keeping our engineers a little too busy and not in a good way. Removing Radioactivity helps us simplify the app, reduce bugs, and spend more time improving features that more listeners use and love.

If Radioactivity was your theme of choice, thank you for giving it a home. We hope you will find another theme that feels just right.

Your listening choices tell a unique story about your year. Ready to see what you’ve been up to?

Your year in audio

Discover the details behind your year in audio:

• Your total podcast and episode count
• The show that claimed your top spot
• Your accumulated listening time
• The longest episode you completed
• Your podcast ratings and reviews

For Pocket Casts Plus members only:

• Year-over-year comparison with your 2024 habits
• Your episode completion rate and listening patterns

Time to see what your year sounded like.

The bigger picture

Visit our new Playback website to explore beyond your personal stats. See which podcasts dominated globally, which genres surged in popularity, and which episodes became cultural moments. It’s a fascinating snapshot of how we listened collectively in 2025.

Share your stats

After exploring your Playback, join the conversation. Share your results on Instagram or X using #PocketCasts2025. We’re curious to see what makes our community unique.

Your listening, your way.

With version 8.0 of the mobile apps and 6.0 of the web and desktop apps, Pocket Casts introduces Playlists, a flexible and personal way to organize your listening experience. Playlists let you curate, combine, and manage episodes across your favorite podcasts, helping you build exactly the listening flow you want.

Playlists are available now on Web and in our Desktop apps! App version 8.0 with Playlists is currently rolling out to users on iOS and Android – keep an eye out for app updates 👀

What’s new

Playlists

Create and customize playlists by hand. Use your own order, save episodes for later, or build collections around trips, themes, or guests you love.

• Available on iOS, Android, Web, and Desktop.
• Add episodes even from podcasts you do not follow.
• Perfect for keeping your must-listen queue organized.

Smart Playlists

Let the app organize your podcasts for you. Smart Playlists automatically gather episodes from the podcasts you follow based on the rules you set. For example, you can make a “Quick Listen” Smart Playlist that gathers episodes from your favorite shows that are less than 25 minutes long.

• Available on iOS and Android.
• Create custom rules, such as showing only unplayed or downloaded episodes, or filtering by length or date.
• Episodes that fit those rules will automatically appear in your playlist.

How Manual Playlists work

Getting started takes only a few clicks:

1. From the main screen, open the Playlists tab.
2. Tap “+” on mobile or click “New playlist” on the web.
3. Give it a name and tap “Create playlist.”

Now you can start adding episodes:

On Mobile:

• Open a playlist, tap “Add episodes,” and browse your podcasts.
• Swipe left on an episode and tap “+.”
• In the player, use the bottom toolbar and tap “Add to playlist.”

On Web:

• Open a playlist, click “Add episodes,” and browse your podcasts.
• On any show or episode page, click “+.”

Thanks to Our Community

Thank you for helping shape Playlists with your feedback and ideas. We’re excited for you to start exploring, creating, and organizing your listening in a whole new way.

We’ve got some pretty exciting news — search just got a major glow-up! Whether you’re trying to find your next favorite podcast or exploring new episodes, the whole experience is now faster, smarter, and way more fun to use.

What’s new?

First off, say hello to type-ahead predictive search. As soon as you start typing in the search bar (in Podcasts or Discover), you’ll see suggestions popping up instantly — both search terms and matching podcasts. This is all powered by a new super-fast backend to make sure results come back lightning-quick.

We’ve also launched a brand-new search results algorithm. What does that mean for you? Now podcasts and episodes are shown together on the same list — no more switching tabs or bouncing around. Everything’s in one place, ranked smartly so the most relevant stuff comes up first.

And the cherry on top: a sleek new UI. The search results page has been totally redesigned to make browsing smoother. You can even play episodes directly from the results list — so when you see something interesting, you can dive right in without extra taps.

Oh, and for everyone searching in other languages — we heard you! Search is now much better at handling non-English terms, so finding content across languages is easier than ever.

How it works

When you tap on the Search bar on the Podcasts or Discover tabs, you’ll automatically get access to the new search. Start typing, and predictive suggestions will appear as you go. Pick one of the suggestions, or just hit Enter, and you’ll be taken to the new results layout where you can explore and start listening right away.

Basically, less time searching, more time listening.

We can’t wait for you to try it out — go ahead and give the new search a spin today!

Pocket Casts is now even more helpful with smarter notifications made just for you.

What’s New?

We’ve added new notifications to help you get the most out of Pocket Casts:

• Discover your next favorite show with personalized recommendations, trending shows, and curated collections.
• Stay on track with reminders when downloaded episodes are ready to go.
• Discover new features, like Smart Folders, Transcripts, and more.
• Get tips and insights to unlock everything Pocket Casts has to offer.

Whether you’re new or a longtime listener, these updates are designed to bring more value, right when you need it.

You’re in Control

Go to Settings > Notifications to customize what you receive, from show recommendations to feature tips. Change your preferences anytime.

Update to the latest version of Pocket Casts to try them out!

Pocket Casts now supports the Podcasting 2.0 Funding tag! This means that if a show includes this tag in their RSS feed, we’ll display a Funding button ($) in Pocket Casts that links to a way you can financially support them – such as through Patreon or other funding platforms.

Supporting podcasts financially helps creators keep making the shows you know and love ❤️

Click here to check out a selection of shows with Funding enabled – just open the show in Pocket Casts on mobile or web, and look for the $ button.

“The mission of Podcasting 2.0 and the Podcast Index is to preserve, protect, and extend the open, independent podcasting ecosystem.
We do this by providing podcasters with new features for their shows, equipping developers with new tools for their apps and services, and—most importantly—improving the podcast experience for audiences.”

— podcasting2.org

Did you know that Pocket Casts also supports other Podcasting 2.0 tags? Learn more:

• Podroll
• Transcripts
• Podping
• Chapters

Finding your next favorite podcast just got a whole lot easier thanks to new Recommendations, available in the Pocket Casts mobile apps from version 7.89!

You’ll now find Recommendations on each podcast’s page – just head to the You Might Like tab (next to Bookmarks) to explore shows similar to the one you’re currently viewing.

Where available, this tab also features creator-curated recommendations – podcasts handpicked by the podcast creator using Podroll, a Podcasting 2.0 RSS tag that lets creators share the shows they love directly with their followers. If a podcast has Podroll set up, their picks will appear right at the top of the You Might Like tab.

Want to see it in action? Here’s a selection of shows using Podroll – just open one in Pocket Casts and head to You Might Like to view the creator’s picks.

When you’re logged into your Pocket Casts account, you’ll also see new Recommendation lists in Discover:

• You Might Like – Personalized podcast suggestions based on your playback history.
• Loved by listeners of [Podcast] – Discover what fellow listeners enjoy based on podcasts frequently listened to together across the Pocket Casts community.
• Because you like [Podcast] – Personalized suggestions based on your unique playback history compared with similar listeners.

Not seeing all of these yet? That just means we need a bit more playback history to generate your results. Keep exploring and they’ll start appearing soon!

And don’t worry – human-curated picks aren’t going anywhere. Our team still handpicks standout shows for featured collections in Discover, so you can have the best of both worlds: thoughtful editorial selections and smart personalized recommendations.

It’s time to discover something great!

Great news, Pocket Casts fans! With version 7.85, we’ve introduced Generated Transcripts, a powerful new feature that makes engaging with your favorite podcasts easier than ever. Available on both Android and iOS for our Plus and Patron members, this feature allows you to follow along with podcast conversations.

Podcasts are full of incredible insights, but sometimes you want to revisit a key moment without scrubbing through the entire episode. With Generated Transcripts, you can now read along, search for specific phrases, and quickly find key discussions—even if a show doesn’t have their own transcripts.

To access them go to the player and from the toolbar tap the message icon. If you don’t see it you can reach it through the dot menu or customize the toolbar.

We continue to support transcripts provided by podcast creators, ensuring that manually curated ones remain available. However, with this new feature, we’re expanding access by automatically generating them for new episodes from the most-followed podcasts.

If a show already provides its own transcripts, those will remain available. But if they don’t, our generated transcripts will step in to ensure you can still follow along and search key moments.

We can’t wait to hear what you think—try it out and let us know your feedback!

How about having your podcast list automatically organized by content?

Say hello to Smart Folders! Available now on Android 7.85, iOS 7.85, and coming soon to web, our Smart Folders feature takes all your followed podcasts and groups them into folders based on their content.

Why Smart Folders?

Smart Folders will revolutionize the way you manage your podcast library! Your podcasts will automatically be grouped by content, so you’ll never waste time searching through endless shows to find what you’re looking for. Everything you love will be neatly organized and easy to access. It’s the perfect way to keep your podcast list tidy. But don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of some suggestions or want to make adjustments, you can easily edit your folders just like you can with the ones you create.

How to use this feature?

For free users

Once you’ve followed at least 8 podcasts, suggested folders will become available to you.

1. Go to the Podcasts tab.
2. If we’ve identified folders for you, a new Smart Folders screen will pop up.
3. Tap the Use These Folders button.

To unlock this feature, you need to sign in with a Pocket Casts Plus account. Check out our Plus and Patron plans to access this feature.

After signing in to your Pocket Casts Plus account, tap the Use These Folders button again to apply the suggestions, and your podcast list will be automatically organized!

For Pocket Casts Plus users

You need to follow at least 8 podcasts for our system to start suggesting folders. To check if our system has already identified folders for you:

1. Go to the Podcasts tab.
2. Tap to create a folder.
3. If we’ve identified folders for you, the Smart Folders screen will appear.
4. Tap the Replace folders button to organize your podcasts.

If you’d like to create a custom folder, simply use the Create Custom Folders button, and it will redirect you to the manual folder creation screen.

We hope you enjoy this new feature!

Looking to add a dash of spontaneity to your listening lineup? Say hello to Shuffle! Available now for Plus and Patron users on Android 7.77, iOS 7.77, and web version 4.5.8, our new Shuffle feature lets you randomly play episodes from your Up Next queue.

Why Shuffle?

Shuffle is perfect for rediscovering old favorites, mixing up genres, or simply keeping things fresh. Whether you’re in the mood for a surprise or just can’t decide what’s next, let Shuffle take the reins and make your queue as exciting as ever!

How to Use Shuffle

On Android, iOS, and Web:

1. Go to your Up Next queue.
2. Enable Shuffle by tapping the Shuffle icon at the top right.
3. The next episode that plays will be randomly selected.

When Shuffle is enabled, the next episode played will always be picked randomly from your Up Next queue. If you want to go back to the normal playback order, you just have to tap the button again to turn Shuffle off.

Update to the latest version of Pocket Casts and give Shuffle a try today! From revisiting episodes you forgot you had queued to discovering hidden gems in your library, Shuffle will keep your listening experience dynamic and engaging.

Let us know what you think by tagging us on social media. Happy shuffling!