Pocket Casts
Address: 
60 29th St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Website: pocketcasts.com
Owned by: Automattic
Latest news
- Apr 7: Automattic, which owns Pocket Casts and Wordpress, is laying off 280 workers (16%) in a restructure. It’s unclear which units are affected. The company has been mired in drama after its owner, Matt Mullenweg, criticised WP Engine; 159 employees left the company in October.
- Apr 3: The Podnews Report Card results for 2025 were released on stage at Evolutions, with comments and scores by creators about the podcast platforms we all use. YouTube scored significantly higher for all categories, though creators expressed concern about walled gardens and about perceived complication getting listed. Apple continued to be creators’ favourite platform, though in the apps category, the independent podcast app Pocket Casts was #2. We’ve published the full results here.
- Mar 28: Popular podcast app Pocket Casts is rolling out “smart folders” next week, which automatically groups shows together. You’ll see them in beta versions of the app now.
- Mar 20: Just over a year ago, Pocket Casts partnered with Slumber Studios for a free first year’s subscription to their service. Some users on Reddit have been taken by surprise by a renewal payment being taken. Pocket Casts has told Podnews that users gave payment details directly to Slumber Studios when claiming the offer, and it was clear that users would be charged after the first year; an email was recently sent by Supercast, the operator of Slumber Studios premium subscription, with details of the upcoming fee; and Pocket Casts has also added help on how to cancel.
- Mar 18:
Pocket Casts appears to be considering generating its own transcripts for its app. Part of the release notes for the forthcoming v7.85 of the app adds a “remote feature flag for generated transcripts”, allowing that feature to be turned on later. The app currently supports creator-made transcripts, using the
podcast:transcripttag.
Data credits: Google Maps, Podnews newsletter