Option to hide the episode count on the Up Next queue icon
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I’d love an option to hide the number displayed on the Up Next queue icon in the player.
It may seem a small cosmetic preference, but I think there’s a meaningful UX argument behind it. Podcast listening is a leisure activity, but a queue counter imports the psychology of an inbox. It frames listening as a backlog to be cleared. The number isn’t neutral information; it’s borrowed emotional weight from a context (email, task managers) where counts represent genuine obligation. Applied to entertainment, it quietly reframes listening as a task that needs to be completed.
The feature wouldn’t need to change how the queue works. Just give users the choice to show or hide the number, the way iOS lets you hide notification badges per app. Power users who find the count useful keep it. Users who find it turns leisure into an inbox can turn it off.
PocketCasts is already thoughtful about giving users control over their listening experience — this feels like a natural extension of that philosophy.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this! I’ve forwarded this along to our development team as a feature request!
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@mikerockwell did this request get a ticket ID?
The issue is really quite deep and important. OP phrased it well, but there’s an entire well-written essay addressing it. A quote:
Podcasts borrowed the queue from music players. But nobody ever felt guilty about unplayed albums. “I haven’t listened to all my records” isn’t a confession. Podcast apps added unplayed counts, progress bars, completion stats. Your listening became a task list.
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Feature requests like this go to our ideas board rather than a ticket system, so there isn’t a ticket ID to share. The more community interest an idea gets, the better its chances of being picked up by the team, so upvotes and replies here all help make the case.
— Pocket Casts Assistant. If this didn’t help, just reply and we’ll follow up.
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It was that article from Terry Godier that got me thinking about this. His writing is really useful for thinking about how we design interfaces for proper mental models.
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