The new advertisements seriously suck.
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I am a long time user of Pocketcasts, a seriously big fan (been using it since 2015, 108 days of listening) and this week will most likely be my last week.
I understand that my 6$ back in the days does not support you anymore, I understand that you have an alternative business model (as a subscription) but just offer me an alternative thats not 66$ a year.
I will seriously pay another onetime fee if it means I don’t need to see these aweful ads for a bit. -
Thanks for your feedback and understanding, @jofzar. You’re right. These ads help support ongoing development of the app so it can continue to be used for free. Right now, the only way to remove the banner ads is to get a Plus subscription. That said, I have filed a future request on your behalf for having an alternative to the Plus subscription.
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just to be clear, I am not a “free” user, I paid in 2015 and as per the below article I should get the features I paid for back then, which weren’t ads. I shouldn’t be seeing ads at all.
Help Center
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@jofzar I believe you meant to link to this help guide: https://support.pocketcasts.com/knowledge-base/lifetime-access-to-pocket-casts-plus/
To be clear, you still get access to the features you paid for, including Filters, the Up Next queue, and so on. We’ve also added many other features since then for free, but the introduction of banner ads helps sustain the continued work and maintenance of the app.
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I’m another unhappy user.
I bought the app back in the day. I then later reached out to say I didn’t need any of the then new premium features, but I’d like to donate to show appreciation, and was pointed to your donation link which I used.
My point is that I both really like your app and am prepared to give you money for it.
I just want the adverts gone – I still don’t need the other Plus features. This change makes me feel that you’re trying to increase your conversion rate by making the base product worse. I’m digging my heels in. I’m not going to be giving you £40 a year to turn off adverts in one app. You may wish to counter this by adding more adverts, larger adverts, maybe a countdown splash screen every time I open the app – and we’re all going to get more and more miserable.
You’re not making £40 a year showing me adverts and I’m not going to be paying you £40 a year to restore the appearance of my podcast app. You’re not going to get your dev money, and I’m writing this stupid rant about one of my favourite apps. This doesn’t feel good for anyone.
Would a nice solution, that would make us both happy, be to just add a “no ad” tier? I give you £10 (what Podcast Addict charges to remove ads) a year, and we pretend none of this happened?
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Thanks for the suggestion, @jameshalliday4842bcb56f. I’ll make sure to share it with the rest of the team too.
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+1 on the “no ads” tier. I also have zero use for any of the current Pro features, have been a happy user for the past nine years, and totally get that ongoing development costs money. But I also already pay for ad-free tiers on quite a few other apps, as well as some podcast subscriptions. At some point, money is limited.
A 10-18€/year ad-free version would be okay for me.
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Oof. Adding ads to something I already paid for is so sketchy. Yes, I get you need to make money This is probably my second most used app next to Relay since I started using Android and that relationship is gone now with this move by you. Agree that $10 to remove ads would be better but my love of Pocket Casts is now over.
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Chiming in here. These changes are awful and I am in disbelief this passed internal review. The ads are gigantic and having the “Remove ads” option taking you to a $56/year subscription is completely beyond the pale. You’re taking the piss. I have no use for any of the premium features and ended my subscription when you hiked the price. I am not interested in an “ad-free” tier for an app I purchased. This banner ad in combination with the insane price hike show a severe lack of understanding/respect for users and I simply an not interested in supporting what was once a great app.
🚗🔨💥
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Hard same to the sentiments here. I bought the software a long time ago, and I haven’t noticed (and so likely don’t benefit from or care about) any wonderful new features that warrant premium subscription pricing. DEFINITELY not pricing that is more than I pay for some subscriptions to actual content platforms. At the time I paid for the app it was the best available for Android, and there weren’t literally hundreds of equally suitable options, several of which are open source. Let’s be real: Pocket Casts is a modest bit of software that allows one to lightly organize and stream podcast content produced by others. This does not warrant subscription pricing – the software is one in a sea of podcast player apps, not some amazingly valuable IP.
I’ll look for an open source (or even another single-pay) solution. If you need to fund ongoing development (after all, I guess they do update Android once in a while, so I’m sure you need to update the app to maintain compatibility and functionality), you could possibly implement a reasonable software pricing model relative to your actual value prop, e.g. like the one used by Cockos for Reaper (yes, you are actually asking me to pay nearly as much annually for a podcast app as they charge ONE TIME for a full featured DAW then many professionals prefer even to ProTools – that’s WILD). IF you are transparent about that pricing model, maybe you can retain some users and supporters. I would have gladly thrown you five or ten bucks every few years when you release a new generation of the software that has a vastly improved build or excellent new features, IF I wanted to upgrade based on those improvements, or if platforms had changed so much that you had to rebuild.
Honestly, the only real value I feel on Pocket Casts is avoiding the mild inconvenience of taking a screen shot of my subscriptions so I can add them to a different player.
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I’m in the same boat. Terrible decision. I’ve recommended this app to friends and colleagues over the years but that will cease. I installed Antennapod yesterday and imported my subscribed list. I guess they figure they got our money and realize we won’t convert to paid sub so no harm in extracting more revenue through ads. Another great example of Enshittification.
Thank you.
You’ve made a purchase from Shifty Jelly on Google Play.Order number: xxxxxx
Order date: Nov 24, 2013 1:06:33 AM PST
Item Price
Pocket Casts $3.99
Tax: $0.00
Total: $3.99 -
likewise. I’m out. I’m going to search for an alternative. I’ve been using this product since 2014, as a premium user. And, as you all know, you pay extra so that you don’t have to see an advertisements.
Regardless of how their business model works on into the future, or how they need to monetize to remain successful, business realites, whatever- You and I paid extra for an app that doesn’t show us ads. And now, we are second class citizens in their business model. I’m out.
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Adding my voice here, I paid too and I find it distasteful to be asked to now start paying for ad free.
Early supporting customers should not feel they are being treated unfairly.
When I buy a product I want it to work in that mode with that feature set forever. Don’t make me pay for features I didn’t need or want or ask for please.
Alternative products exist and I will move if I don’t feel treated fairly too.
Thanks for your attention to this. Great app btw!
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@staff-cara you said:
you still get access to the features you paid for
The app being ad free was a feature that I paid for when I bought the app in 2017.
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I also specifically paid for the upgrade to remove all ads, and now there are ugly distracting ads again in the app. I question the legality and taking away some I paid, not refunding for it, and asking for more money to get it back again.
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Hi, I am just another unhappy customer! I came here to say that I have been using your app since 2013 and paid for the ad-free version. I really liked Pocket Casts, and despite some shortcomings of the app, I have continued to use it every day up to the present.
Today, I opened your app and was greeted with an ad. Worse, it did not close when I clicked on the little x at the top corner. That’s really scummy!
I used your app because of nostalgia as much as anything–I felt a personal connection to Pocket Casts after using it for so many years. It was my old trusty friend. Today, I opened the app and it treated me like a stranger.
In that case, why bother? AntennaPod is free and actually open source. I’ll be using their product from now on. -
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i have the same issue. Feeling betrayed by the of my favorite software companies (until now).
i purchased the app years ago and now I see this ad banner. I find it unacceptable to ad an add banner to a purchased app. If you want to change the business model … release a pocket cast 2 and let me use the old version.
I was advertising you to a lot of friends because of the pay once option. I feel betrayed and arguments like “new features” cannot work, since I never asked for these features.
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I’m only here to express my frustration with the new advertising banner. It’s just too much.I’ve been using Pocket Casts for many years and have recommended it whenever I could… but this just isn’t enjoyable anymore. It used to be one of the few apps you could wholeheartedly recommend, and now, overnight, I have to start looking for an alternative. I don’t need any Pro features, and I can’t justify a subscription just because of an over-the-top, constantly visible banner. Sorry, but this approach is really annoying.
Pocket Casts Forum 