long story short
- Google shut down its Podcasts app in the United States late last year after confirming the shutdown date.
- However, Google said that people outside the United States will still be able to use Google Podcasts until June 24.
Google confirmed last year that it would be killing its Google Podcasts service, eventually confirming that the service would last until the end of March. Unfortunately, for many users, that moment has finally arrived.
Google recently notified Google Podcasts users in the United States, warning them that they need to migrate their subscriptions to YouTube Music or another service before April 2. That deadline passed just yesterday, meaning users can no longer listen to podcasts on the service. Check out the notification screenshot below.
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
Google also links to a support page that states users can defer subscription migration until July. Either way, U.S. consumers can no longer use the service to listen to podcasts.
With that said, a Google representative has confirmed (h/t: Rodrigo Ghedin) that Google Podcasts will still be available to people outside the United States until June 24th. I can still use Google Podcasts in South Africa, and the app doesn’t work unless I switch to the US via VPN, which seems to show a shutdown notification. I can play podcasts with or without the VPN, so I’m not 100% sure if just using a VPN is enough to avoid the inevitable shutdown.
Regardless, if you’re a Google Podcasts refugee looking for an alternative, there’s no shortage of great podcast apps.