# Google Podcasts — user reviews > 55 indexed App Store user reviews of Google Podcasts by Google LLC, rated 4.70/5 from 15,004 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-podcasts/id1398000105/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-podcasts/id1398000105.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 12,552 · 4★ 1,253 · 3★ 430 · 2★ 256 · 1★ 513 ## What do users think of Google Podcasts? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Great cross-device sync - 👍 Clean and simple UI - 💡 Dedicated mark as (un)played - 🚀 True episode downloads **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes - 🐛 Playback issues and timeline jumps - 🐛 Inconsistent episode tracking - 🐛 Buggy background playback **Commonly reported bugs** - Podcast downloads failing to load - App closing unexpectedly - Inconsistent episode progress tracking - Compatibility issues with Google Home **Most requested features** - Swipe features to mark episodes - Organize episodes by show - Personalized podcast recommendations - Timestamp bookmarks and chapter support ## Newest reviews (20 of 55) ### 4/5 — Google Podcasts *2023-08-21* Although still lacking in swipe features (mark as played/add to queue) and it is still a 3 step process to mark episodes as played, instead of being able to select all as played or at least be able to select multiple episodes at a time. It is still the only app that truly downloads episodes without needing internet to start playing. With some over hauling this app could and should be the best out there. ### 4/5 — Google Podcasts *2023-03-27* Very good just not great, app can be a bit buggy with some show uploads showing up then going away sometimes until the next day. Still waiting for swipe features or better ease of use with a dedicated mark as (un)played. But the biggest seller is true episode downloads, with Apple Podcasts, which is my general go-to, the episodes are marked as downloaded but still require wifi to to initiate play. This app is very clean and simple, but still find myself switching back and forth time to time. ### 3/5 — Keeps getting cleared from RAM *2023-02-12, version 2.0.21* This is my favorite podcast app, but it doesn’t seem to keep itself in RAM very well. If you don’t keep the app open for several minutes after starting a podcast, iOS will clear it from memory and stop playback. If you lock your phone or switch to another app too soon, your podcast will suddenly stop in less than 30 seconds. The solution is to leave your screen on with the app open for a minute or two after pressing play. Please patch this bug! ### 3/5 — It’s a start *2023-02-09, version 2.0.21* In terms of how it’s set up, I really enjoy the idea of the queue, especially if you subscribe to a lot of podcasts. Browsing for new podcasts is somewhat difficult, I think Apple has a better setup there. The app tends to crash when launching at times, and goes through periods where most the podcasts have playback errors. I think overall, it remains the best podcast service I’ve used. However, it is very surprising that’s it’s not compatible with google nest hub and will instead display a blank black screen ### 2/5 — iOS version has been very unreliable *2023-02-05, version 2.0.21* I used Google podcasts on my s21 for years without any issues before switching to an iPhone. I've been using this app for a month now and it's very frustrating- randomly shuts off, buggy when pairing with Google home (stops tracking playtime intermittently, so if I try to disconnect from speakers to play on my phone it will not resume playing at the same point of the podcast), inconsistently displays on the home screen, and does not linger in the "dynamic island." Hope they address these issues in the next update. ### 3/5 — Great app design and function but frequent crashes *2023-02-03, version 2.0.21* Everything about the search and find functionality of the app is great. It's very easy to find and create a queue of podcasts, as well as downloaded them. Unfortunately, at least on iPhones, the app frequently crashes in the background. I haven't been able to figure out when or if there's a pattern to it. Generally I just have to keep reopening the app and trying again until it stably remains open. ### 4/5 — Not overly complicated, pretty easy to navigate, good for history and playback controls *2023-01-06, version 2.0.21* Good for history, downloads control, playback is usually perfect, speed controls have a lot of freedom, subscribing/unsubscribing doesn’t do anything weird (like automatically download new episodes or the entire catalogue without asking or resetting your listen history), sleep timer control is perfect, and jump back and forward buttons are extremely useful. There are no audio effects like volume leveling or skip silence, which I don’t miss. It could be nice if there was an effect that prevented music from sounding crunchy/glitchy/crackly during >1.0x speed playback. It needs time stamp bookmarks and chapter information/jumps. The Explore recommendations aren’t personalized (well) so it’s terrible for discovery. ### 3/5 — Great but some issues *2022-11-23, version 2.0.20* This podcast app is awesome - great cross device sync, ability to skip gaps, episode level search But the problem I’ve been facing is that the progress in the episode is not represented correctly by the iOS play progress bar on the Lock Screen or sometimes even the podcast app progress bar itself. As a result, I press pause and I jump back to an earlier part of the episode, losing my progress. It’s pretty annoying, please fix this! ### 4/5 — 👍🏼 *2022-11-12, version 2.0.19* Came back to google pods from Apple because Apple just took up entirely too much internal space for no apparent reason, while google uses nearly no space in comparison. I do wish the list of downloads had an option to view by show and have the Episodes organized by show, instead of just in your download list in order that you downloaded them. Not really a complaint, just an idea to improve experience. ### 2/5 — Persistent Bugs *2022-10-02, version 2.0.19* I don't remember the app always being so buggy but in 2022 I've been having bad luck with it. The app crashes after a few seconds every other time I launch it and start to play something, having to then relaunch the app. Many relaunches for specific shows lose the last played position, so I'm constantly fumbling with the audio scrubber, or eventually realizing the app has gone too far back in a track that I'm hearing parts of an episode over and over again, or I lose the last played position altogether, forced to restart episodes from the very beginning. Also seeing with specific shows that if I download an episode and add it to my queue, it fails to load the download when it comes time to play. So I have nothing playing for whatever’s next in my queue if I’m in an area with poor reception. I have to undo the download for the episode in order for the on demand audio to then actually play. Please, dev team, help iOS users out. ### 3/5 — Fine for casual use *2022-09-29, version 2.0.19* I guess this app is fine. But once you have subscribed to more than 20 or so podcasts it becomes tedious to find a podcast that you have subscribed to. I think I have over 100 podcasts that I subscribe to at the moment and the only way to organize them is in one straight line. This is embarrassing for Google. Other podcast apps that you organize by tag or by category or by folder. My other main concern is that it is not possible to limit your search by language. I suppose Google thinks it has such an amazing search algorithm that all you need is one search box. ButThis is far too limiting and its algorithm is constrained by the experience of its own developers, Most of which I assume are monolingual. Or at least only searching in one language. Do they think I want to change the language of my phone in order to tell the search box in my Podcasts app what languages I’m looking for? This is ridiculous. ### 4/5 — Google Podcasts *2022-09-22, version 2.0.19* Likely the best Podcasting app to date, app can be a little glitchy with some show uploads showing up then going away sometimes until the next day. Still waiting for swipe features or better ease of access with mark as (un)played. But the biggest seller is true episode downloads, with most other apps such as Apple they are marked as download but still require wifi to play. Typically my go to, but still switch back and forth time to time. ### 3/5 — 5 ⭐️ until last week…. Repeatedly crashing *2022-07-12, version 2.0.18* I have used and preferred Google Podcasts over all other outlets available going on 3 years now. However in the last week or so the app has been having playback errors constantly and crashing several times a day… sometimes within just an hours time. I hope this issue is being looked at and that a resolution is found soon because I really dislike other podcast apps and strongly prefer not to use them. ### 2/5 — So much crashing *2022-07-07, version 2.0.18* I actually love, love, love how this app’s interface and functionality. After Apple aggressively trashed its podcast app, I needed something that would let me subscribe to podcast without downloading every single episode. Google was my knight in shining armor. But then… the app started crashing. Initially, just once or twice in the morning, but now it can be six times or more just to start the day! It’s so very frustrating. And don’t even think about listening to a podcast while using another app! Even the weather app is too much. I don’t know why Google doesn’t just fix it. Surely they have the resources! ### 3/5 — I Actually Really Like it but… *2022-06-07, version 2.0.18* I actually really like this app, but it doesn’t seem to know where I leave off. If I pause it or try to skip time it tends to go back in time, like it isn’t keeping up with where I am. I do have background app refresh on, but that doesn’t make the difference. It’s very irritating trying to find where I left off even if I just pause the episode… Otherwise it’s the best I’ve seen as far as features and episode organization abilities. ### 2/5 — Skips backwards when pausing/skipping/restarting *2022-06-03, version 2.0.18* Switched from Apple Podcasts because their latest update was garbage. I pause in the middle of podcasts a lot, or want to skip back/forth to hear or skip something. Most of the time when I do this, the podcast jumps backwards several minutes, or to somewhere close to the beginning (but not the beginning). It’s super annoying because then I have to try to find my place again. Now I try to pay attention to where I was up to in case it happens again but when you’re out running, that’s a royal pain. ### 3/5 — Jumps Timeline *2022-05-23, version 2.0.17* Coming from a OnePlus 6T, this was my go to podcast app. It is the same in look and function. The issue I am having is the timeline jumps on its own. It can happen when I switch from my Bluetooth headphones to my car. It will go back to a random time. It will never go forward. Also happens when trying to advance using the 30 sec time advance. Tried the apple podcast app, but it does not allow me to select a queue from what I can see. ### 3/5 — Buggy and Basic *2022-04-24, version 2.0.15* I've used this app for about 10 months since Apple's made their iphone 12s burn up when in use. It was fine at first - very basic and I don't think the organization of the podcasts is stellar, but it's free so whatever. Now for the past many weeks it shuts down the first play of the day when the screen sleeps. That, coupled with an awkward organization, means I'll try Apple again. Meh. I read here in reviews that I can delete and reinstall but won't that delete my downloads? Eh, it's time to walk away anyway. ### 3/5 — Great App, but Playback Error is getting extremely annoying *2022-03-29, version 2.0.15* I like listening to Podcasts when I’m driving around. The biggest feature that I love about Google Podcasts is that if I am listening to an episode and start another one, the episode I was listening does not get taken off my queue. With that being saying, my BIGGEST ISSUE is the playback error message that I keep getting at the most random times when I am trying to start an episode, when I skip to another episode, or when I skip minutes of an episode. I like listening to Podcasts when I’m driving around. ### 3/5 — Sometimes doesn't play minimized or with screen off *2022-02-09, version 2.0.15* When my screen turns off or I minimize and open another app...playback stops basically rendering the app useless to all listeners except those dedicated to staying transfixed to their podcast's episode description...and ensuring their phone's screen never turns off. With billions in profit every quarter, you'd imagine they could afford afford QA testing... Come on Google, I use Google Podcasts so my listening is seemless across my phone and my Google home speakers...but this is NOT seemless. Also, when we have a playlist built up, when we double tap on a playlist item...it should start playing the item...not take us to the podcast show page. How is that not obvious? You guys need proper UI experts on your dev team! Not everyone has to be a dev. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Barely Even Functional *2023-04-14* It’s as if google is trying to make this app worse and worse so we will all thank them when they eventually discontinue this app and put us out of our misery of having to use it. The app crashes multiple times per podcast, many times it doesn’t keep track of where you left off, and there are many times an episode of a podcast just fails to load. I end up going to Apple Podcasts multiple times a week just to finish an episode. The only logical conclusion is that google is trying to discontinue this app and get out of podcasts. I would already leave this app behind if it wasn’t for the layout or more customizable playback speeds than other apps. ### 1/5 — Unreliable *2023-02-01, version 2.0.21* This has been my go-to app for podcasts since it debuted… I recently made the switch to iPhone after a lifetime of androids and this app has been the only consistently negative aspect of the transition. Some days I will get about an hour into a podcast with no problem, lately I have lost count of how many times PER HOUR I am having to pick up my phone to restart the app to continue listening to a podcast. I have uninstalled several times and tried a few tweaks to my phone but it is such a disappointing experience that really ruins my ability to give my Apple iPhone experience an exceptional review. ### 1/5 — It's a great app.. if it will work 🙄 *2022-07-03, version 2.0.18* I never leave reviews on apps, and this is a first because this app is so disappointing. The app itself would have been great, if only it will work consistently. The app crashes within seconds of opening it most of the time. I have deleted the app and reinstalled it so many times but that didn't fix the issue, I've tried just leaving one downloaded episode at a time, but that didn't work either. None of the other apps crash like this one. I love listening to podcasts on my way to and from work and this app used to work well, but it hasn't worked for weeks now. Hope Google fixes the issues because it could've been a good app. ### 1/5 — Worst app *2022-04-28, version 2.0.15* One of the worst apps I’ve used in general, not just for podcasts. Clearly the developers don’t even use this app to listen to podcasts, otherwise the outstanding issues would have been addressed. It crashes constantly. I will be able to listen to about 10 seconds of a podcast and then it crashes. Sometimes I reboot a podcast upwards of 10 times before giving up. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of trigger for this; just sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It also has a terrible time remembering where you’re at. If you are someone like me who fast forwards through ads, good luck using this. Often it will fast forward at one point just fine, but if later on you press any command (rewind, pause, fast forward), it will jump backwards to the last place you hit a command. Very strange, and happens every time I listen. ### 1/5 — Shocked how bad this is *2022-01-24, version 2.0.15* We got a bunch of google nest mini’s for the holidays so I started looking for apps that I could cast my podcasts through. Naturally I figured google would have the best app for this. While it’s the best app for casting podcasts to their speakers, the actual interface is infuriating. Organizing new pods is so confusing, things don’t download, and the worst feature of all: when pressing fast-forward on a Bluetooth speaker instead of advancing the podcast 30 seconds like literally every other app, it’s skips to the next podcast and marks the podcast as finished. Add in that it just randomly starts playing and when casting it forgets your progress. With podcasts as huge as they are right now I’m dumbfounded that google’s official app for them could be THIS bad. Scrap it and start from scratch. ### 1/5 — Adds random podcasts to your feed without permission *2021-09-22, version 2.0.13* This was my go-to podcasting app until about a week ago, when my feed was suddenly filled with two daily podcasts to which I’d never subscribed. Every attempt to unsubscribe, both here and on the web, is unsuccessful. I can unsubscribe from every other podcast without any problems. I’ve tried everything, and there’s nothing in the help documentation or forums except hundreds of other people complaining about the same problem. I’d be able to ignore this, except none of my other podcasts are daily, which means that to find the ones to which I’ve actually subscribed, I have to look through a feed that is literally 80% spam. The unavoidable podcasts are both news podcasts (Slate and CNN), so I doubt it’s some kind of secret sponsorship thing. It seems like some major bug in Google Podcast’s handling of feeds. Either way, it makes this app suddenly unusable, which is unfortunate. ### 1/5 — What happened here? App is now not functional. *2021-09-02, version 2.0.11* This has been the only app I have been using for podcasts. So, recently, it has begun to take longer and longer to launch and would crash within 30 seconds of playing any podcast. This was not a problem as if you just reloaded the app and restarted the podcast, everything was as normal. Today, an update was pushed out, and I was hoping this would be addressed. Nope. App crashes in under 10 seconds and will only play if you stay in the app and not let the phone do any other operations. Very disappointed here. ### 1/5 — Nice but fails *2020-04-18, version 1.0* In the user interface this app very well designed. I find that it is easier and more intuitive than Apple Podcasts which used to be the easiest to use, but after several bad choices in interface change, Apple Podcasts is just a confusing mess that I never got used to. The reason I am giving Google Podcast a one star is because Google decided to remove the ability to add your custom RSS feed. I subscribe to some paid shows that are not available for free and require a personalized RSS feed URL, and Google decided to remove this essential feature that effectively renders this app completely useless for me. If Google brings back the ability to add custom RSS URLs, I would be happy to revise my rating. ### 2/5 — Gets worse with each update *2023-10-12* In terms of how it’s set up, I really enjoy the idea of the queue, especially if you subscribe to a lot of podcasts. Browsing for new podcasts is somewhat difficult, I think Apple has a better setup there. The app tends to crash when launching at times, and goes through periods where most the podcasts have playback errors. I think overall, it remains the best podcast service I’ve used. However, it is very surprising that’s it’s not compatible with google nest hub and will instead display a blank black screen. Edit: now podcast won’t download, and the app crashes when you try to a show page for a podcast ### 2/5 — Needs lots of bug fixes *2023-02-14, version 2.0.22* New review: Reinstalling the app again has resolved the issues with the crashing. There are two main issues now that need to be resolved 1. Listening location of an episode within the app and syncing to other devices is erratic. 2. Most of my Completed episodes are not showing as completed in the app. They show up fine in the web interface. Original review: I’ve been using 3rd party apps on the iPhone since before the App Store even existed. This is the worst app I’ve ever used. I mean you have ONE JOB! To simply play audio files. You’d think we’re trying to fly to the moon. The app constantly crashes and forgets locations. On occasion I have had to attempt to start a podcast up to 5 times. I want to use it because the layout is great and like having it tied to my Google account so I can listen through the web and keep things synced. Please fix the app!!!! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Google Podcasts *2023-07-04* Google Podcasts provide app users with everything they seek and more, all access, you can listen to Ted Talks on your device via phone or computer or tablet speaker mode, wired headphones, bluetooth car audio, sluryooth external device speaker mode, Google apps are very connected, very secure for login, and reliable, they offer free support and take feedback very seriously, Google Podcasts coming in hot🔥Impaulsive, Call Her Daddy, etc Podcast access via Google coming 🔜 (mailchimp, proton etc take a seat in the back). As for Microsoft might want to stick to tech podcasts for now (MS Azure, MS Defender, Cloud storage, and all the ROI Corporate career learning that tech folks need to hear). ### 5/5 — Better for listening *2022-10-30, version 2.0.19* While I can’t have it as a widget on my iPhone when it comes to critical role I get an actual good version of the first campaign. Apple podcasts had one version but it repeated skipped of cut out. Didn’t have issues with my other podcasts but overall google after just a few days is a better listening experience. ### 5/5 — Keeps losing my played list! *2022-02-08, version 2.0.15* I downloaded this app when I switched from my Google phone for the sole purpose of keeping track of the podcasts I have already listened to in my playlists. Well they all reset recently and were marked not played. So I spent part of a long car ride meticulously remarking them and now they’ve all reset again! I’m extremely annoyed! ### 5/5 — Works great after reinstall *2022-02-05, version 2.0.15* Reinstall fixed all my problems. No more crashes. —- Precious 3-star review: I moved to Google podcasts from Apple podcasts because playlist was not working. Google requires me to add each episode to playlist manually, which isn’t ideal but still better than Apple. But my app keeps crashing. I start a podcast, put phone in pocket, and 30 seconds later playback stops. I’m not accidentally hitting stop, because I cannot press play from control center. The podcast app has closed and I need to re-open and press play again. I’ll uninstall and reinstall this app before finding a new podcast player. ### 5/5 — Out & about with YaYa & Gangstalking *2021-12-24, version 2.0.15* I have a new platform on Google podcast and I have to say I feel like a rock star. I have a new lease on life being able to have fun communicating through a podcast with great support and customer service. I would give them a big thumbs up and refer them to anyone who is interested in having their very own podcast. You would be going first class if you utilize a Google podcast for your platform. ### 5/5 — Fantastic! *2021-09-11, version 2.0.12* I have so enjoyed listening to these podcasts. They are labeled perfectly, so you can pick what you need to hear for a specific interest or to target what you’re going through at the moment. She has an aura quiz, so you can self diagnose your aura color(s). The podcast updates frequently and is always entertaining. It has really helped me get in touch with my inner self. I’m addicted! ### 5/5 — Simple and works! *2021-06-01, version 2.0.10* I’ve been using Apple Podcasts forever and each time they update it I’m frustrated. The latest is the worst. After looking for a replacement, too many want a yearly subscription, for things I don’t care about AND to get rid of ads. Google is so much better! Reminds me of what Apple used to be. It’s not complicated and it works!!! ### 5/5 — Best Podcast UI Design *2021-05-18, version 2.0.10* Hi fellas, I produce my own podcast, as a producer my listeners are always asking how to listen. After recommending several other podcast platforms listeners found it difficult to use and find my podcast. After I recommended Google Podcast, my listeners found the user interface easy and understandable to navigate organically through my content and others! ### 5/5 — two ideas *2021-05-15, version 2.0.10* Google podcast is awesome and I love its simplicity. if the developers could add these two features that would be perfect. 1. Listeners can add comments to every episode. 2. Usually each episode has a different cover from the general cover of the show. I found it when I was using “Castbox” and I believe if you can add this feature to google podcast that would be perfect. ### 5/5 — New Update Causes the App to Crash *2021-05-07, version 2.0.10* I have been using Google Podcasts for a long time. I love the features and it has all the Podcast I want to hear, but I have noticed for the past week or two that when I open the app for the first time each day, the app crashes a few times before it fixes itself and decides to work. It is very annoying and I hope to get the issue fixed quickly. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*