# Lysten: Podcast Player — Easy to use, Privacy focused > Privacy-focused podcast player with iCloud sync and offline listening. (iPhone/iPad app by Ambi Studio AB.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Ambi Studio AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/834012550) - Category: News, Entertainment - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.40/5 from 10 App Store ratings · 5 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 44 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2023-01-17 - Data updated: 2026-08-16 - Monetization: freemium - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581/reviews.md ## What is Lysten? Start listening in seconds — search for any show, follow it, and get a clean list of episodes ready to play. Share episodes and shows with anyone, whether or not they have the app. iPhone and iPad users get an App Clip that drops them straight into playback. Tap the share button to invite your friends and loved ones. Lysten is a lightweight podcast player. Sign in with your email to keep your followed shows, episodes, and listening progress in sync across all your devices — iPhone, iPad, and CarPlay. Features: - Sync your library and listening progress across devices with a simple email sign-in - Interactive widgets showing your feed and unfinished episodes — catch up where you left off with a tap - Sidebar on iPad with cover art and grouped sections - CarPlay support, including a Continue Listening carousel - Download episodes to listen offline — long press an episode and select Download - Sleep timer, set, enjoy & sleep - Adjustable playback speed - Podcasts and episodes indexed in Spotlight - SharePlay support — listen to episodes with friends and family - Extremely lightweight If you run into any trouble or have any questions, please reach out: - E-mail: support@ambi.se - X (Twitter): @ambiApps - Mastodon: @ambiApps@mastodon.social Privacy policy: https://ambi.se/privacy Terms of use: https://ambi.se/terms ## Key features - Privacy-focused design - iCloud sync for progress - Offline episode downloads - Interactive widgets - Sleep timer - Adjustable playback speed - Spotlight search indexing ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Lysten+ | $1.99 | per month | | Lysten+ Yearly | $19.99 | per year | ## Recent user reviews (5 of 5) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581/reviews.md ### 2/5 — It’s a start but needs improvement *2026-06-03* The good thing about the app is the mini player. I really like that feature & it's something different than a static bottom bar that most apps use. I also like the app's name and icon. I find both of them to be pretty memorable and simple. The rest of the app leaves much to be desired. Let’s start with the whole “minimalist” navigation approach. It seems like the goal was simplicity, but there are no navigation buttons/icons + you have to use the search to navigate everything. There's not even a global settings button or menu, which is also confusing. When you're a new user like me and testing the app and only have one podcast, your feed is full of just one show. You can literally only get away from that screen by using the search. It's just not intuitive and goes against normal Apple design patterns. On the flip side, the episode listening page has the opposite problem. It has around 7 icons across 2 rows and is overwhelming and cluttered. Progressive disclosure would be the best thing to use here. In combination, these two things make me suspect that the app was at least partially vibe coded bc idk how a human would insert such drastically different patterns into a single app. The actual deal-breaker for me is the fact that there are no auto-generated chapters. I'm looking for something to replace Spotify Podcasts and Apple Podcasts. Both of these apps have that feature (which allows you to skip to the next section of the podcast when ads start). It's super useful. the app might have potential, but I don't recommend it in its current state. ### 4/5 — Beautiful UI, but cannot import OPML file. *2024-05-22* So I could not switch from other podcasts apps. **Developer response:** Hi! If you open your OPML, press Share and share it with Lysten we will import it. Sorry for the late response, fingers crossed you're willing to give it a second try. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you run into any more trouble at cesar@ambi.se Sincerely, César Pinto Castillo Ambi Studio ### 5/5 — User privacy business model!!! *2024-05-13* First, love to support developers that make software like you’re doing, that make a real attempt to respect users. Love the minimalist approach. Simple, looks great, yet isn’t full of “busy” menus, links, or an overemphasis on externals/appearances over function that works smoothly for how users actually use podcast apps. However, there are still some functional elements that keep me from freely using this app. There are some unhandled exceptions, that appear to make the app crash/close. I’ve noticed this on occasion i think when interacting with download episodes, or switching between episodes and podcasts. Don’t have it zeroed in when it happens exactly. I’d like to have some visible que to let me know that new episodes are available for a particular podcast, or maybe a visible mark on new episodes in the podcast listing so you know which are new or unlisted to. I’d like to be able to at least manually refresh podcasts to check for new episodes, whether it’s simply being able to pull down on the podcasts list or an option in a quick menu. There’s no indicators or way of checking that new episodes are available. I’ve noticed after selecting episodes to download that they sometimes disappear from the download list and I have to go back through the podcasts and download those episodes again. That’s a fairly significant deterrent for me to use this app. Basically, I love the appearance and simplicity of this app, but would love just a few basic user functions that could be included in the current interface that would give it better functionality without changing how it is now. Of course, there are some bugs that appear to need to be worked out. **Developer response:** Hey! First of all, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for your review and thank you for appreciating what we're trying to build. I'll add "Add new episode mark", "Introduce way to force refresh of podcast", "Investigate download bug" and "Investigate crash" to our to do list. We'll most likely prioritize crash fix and download bug fyi. Feel free to reach out directly to me at cesar@ambi.se if you have any other trouble or feedback. Have a nice day! / César ### 5/5 — Great work, and A Great Design! *2023-10-29* Thank you so much for creating this app! I’d been looking for another podcast app for a while now, and I came across this one using the App Store search. I love the privacy label and the minimalist design. If I may ask to request a feature, I think this app could do well with a trim silence and or boost volume option. Other podcast apps I’ve used have them, and I love using it for some podcasts. However, I do not know if this would be easy to incorporate, and if not, no worries! This app is still great all on its own. Take care, and thank you again! **Developer response:** First of all, I’m truly sorry about replying this late. BUT we’re thrilled to know you enjoy Lysten this much, thank you for sharing! We’ll look into both trimming silence and boosting volume, thank you for the suggestions :) / Sincerely, Sofia ### 5/5 — Armano 1888 *2023-04-09* This app keeps on crashing when you open it up and could you please fix the problem. Thank you so much This app keeps on crashing when you open it up and could you please fix the problem. Thank you so much **Developer response:** Hi! Could you elaborate on how it crashes? Does the UI appear, does it crash once playing etc. Feel free to reach out to us via e-mail, that way we'll get this sorted out much quicker. My e-mail is cesar@ambi.se Sincerely, César Pinto Castillo Ambi Studio ## Frequently asked questions about Lysten ### What is Lysten? Lysten is a lightweight and privacy-focused podcast player for iPhone and iPad. It allows you to easily search for, follow, and listen to your favorite podcasts without registration. ### Does Lysten have ads? No, Lysten does not contain advertisements. The app is free to use, with optional premium subscription plans available for enhanced features. ### How does Lysten handle user data? Lysten is privacy-focused and syncs your followed podcasts and episode progress using your private iCloud account. This ensures that the developers cannot access your listening data. Anonymous crash reports are collected for stability improvements. ### What are the subscription options for Lysten? Lysten offers two subscription plans: Lysten+ for $1.99 per month with a 3-day free trial, and Lysten+ Yearly for $19.99 per year with a 7-day free trial. ### Can I listen to podcasts offline with Lysten? Yes, you can download episodes to listen offline. Simply long-press an episode and select the 'Download' option. ### What devices does Lysten support? Lysten is available for iPhone and iPad users. It also offers an AppClip for users who do not have the app downloaded, allowing them to start listening immediately. ### How often is Lysten updated? The latest version of Lysten is 2.1.1, last updated on January 14, 2026. The app is developed by Ambi Studio AB and is written in 100% SwiftUI. ### Is Lysten suitable for children? Lysten has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. Its simple interface and privacy-focused design are beneficial for all ages. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.2.2 — 2026-07-31 - You stay signed in when you open Lysten without a connection. Your library is there offline, and syncs as soon as you're back online. - Playback picks up again after Siri interrupts it, instead of leaving you paused. - Episodes now show "Downloading" while a download is running, so you can't start the same one twice — which could crash the app. ### 2.2.1 — 2026-05-12 - Sign in with your email — we've moved off CloudKit, so an account is now required to sync your library across devices. - Redesigned welcome and sign-in screens with new artwork and a fresh neon look. - New sidebar on iPad, with cover art and grouped sections. - CarPlay: a "Continue listening" carousel and nicer placeholders when artwork hasn't loaded yet. - Faster, more reliable artwork loading throughout the app. - Episodes without a subtitle now fall back to the description, so cards never look empty. - Smarter sync that only uploads what actually changed, plus better handling of follows, unfollows, and progress across devices. - Mark as finished now sticks the way you'd expect. - Fixes a bug where average duration could show 0 right after following a podcast. - Lots of stability fixes, including CarPlay and sign-in crashes. ### 2.2.0 — 2026-05-03 - Sign in with your email — we've moved off CloudKit, so an account is now required to sync your library across devices. - Redesigned welcome and sign-in screens with new artwork and a fresh neon look. - New sidebar on iPad, with cover art and grouped sections. - CarPlay: a "Continue listening" carousel and nicer placeholders when artwork hasn't loaded yet. - Faster, more reliable artwork loading throughout the app. - Episodes without a subtitle now fall back to the description, so cards never look empty. - Smarter sync that only uploads what actually changed, plus better handling of follows, unfollows, and progress across devices. - Mark as finished now sticks the way you'd expect. - Fixes a bug where average duration could show 0 right after following a podcast. - Lots of stability fixes, including CarPlay and sign-in crashes. ### 2.1.1 — 2026-01-14 - Episodes in Feed are now more colorful - Uses native Liquid Glass search bar (OS26) - Simplified action menus - Episodes in Podcast detail view now show episode specific cover art if available - Minor bug fixes ### 2.1.0 — 2025-10-18 - Adds Liquid Glass to mini player for iOS 26 - Minor fixes ## Apps similar to Lysten | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Kasey Podcast](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kasey-podcast/id6444370197) | 5.0 (5) | Free | News | | [Podcat - your Podcast Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcat-your-podcast-client/id845960230) | 5.0 (4) | Free | News | | [Pods- Podcast Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pods-podcast-player/id1209200428) | 4.4 (342) | Free | News | | [Podcast Player - Arvocast](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcast-player-arvocast/id1521815885) | 3.0 (1) | Free | News | | [Podventure: Podcast Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podventure-podcast-player/id6476608091) | 5.0 (1) | Free | News | | [Podcast Player - Auditory](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/podcast-player-auditory/id1554984316) | 5.0 (8) | Free | News | ## More apps by Ambi Studio AB - [Ambre: Recipe Book & Organizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ambre-recipe-book-and-organizer/id1102236212) - [Volante Trip Journal Organizer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/volante-trip-journal-organizer/id1352066050) - [Göteborg Stickers](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goteborg-stickers/id1368024894) - [Lokite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lokite/id1495890047) - [Aqwitty, Subscription metrics](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aqwitty-subscription-metrics/id6445814200) All apps by Ambi Studio AB: https://appshunter.io/developer/834012550 --- *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 2026-08-16.*