Pocket Casts, the podcast app acquired by Automattic in 2021, is now making its internet participant free. The corporate says the transfer provides an alternative choice to the massive platforms’ closed ecosystems, the place algorithmic-driven content material is prioritized and podcasts are saved behind paywalls.
Podcasts have been constructed on open expertise — the open, decentralized normal RSS, which was designed to make on-line audio in addition to different content material, like information and weblog posts — obtainable to anybody on the internet free of charge. Beginning Tuesday, Pocket Casts will honor the open nature of podcasts by making its internet participant free to make use of.
Which means anybody can go to the Pocket Casts web site and stream any episode they need, with out having to pay a subscription payment and even creating an account.
Nonetheless, if customers wish to personalize their expertise, they’ll create a free account to unlock options like syncing playback throughout internet, cellular, and desktop gadgets; managing their queue; and saving their subscriptions and different preferences.
In the meantime, the corporate’s Pocket Casts Plus paid subscription will provide options that give customers extra management over their listening expertise, together with entry to instruments and options like folders, good shuffle, bookmarks, wearable and cloud help, additional themes and icons, and extra.
The corporate additionally notes that AI-powered discovery isn’t part of its providing.
As an alternative of offering customers with algorithmic-driven podcast recommendations, Pocket Casts needs customers to resolve for themselves what they wish to hearken to. This message may enchantment to individuals who suppose that Spotify has gotten too pushy with its personal suggestions, making it troublesome for customers to maintain up with the exhibits they really needed to comply with.
Help free of charge streaming on the internet may additionally assist the corporate problem Apple Podcasts, which rolled out web streaming in August 2024.
Free streaming is coming to Pocket Casts’ Mac and Home windows apps, as properly, as part of this replace.