Pocket Casts Is Showing Ads To People Who Paid For An Ad-free App

Users who disregard nan ads are taken to Pocket Casts’ subscription page.

Pocket Casts is being flogged for showing advertisements to bequest users who were promised an ad-free experience. The first reports started to look successful early September successful nan Pocket Casts support forum and subreddit. The rumor is simply a bug, according to Matt Mullenweg, nan CEO of Pocket Casts’ genitor institution Automattic, and will beryllium corrected. 

Pocket Casts launched arsenic a purchase-only app successful 2010, charging users a one-time download interest of up to $10, depending connected nan OS and platform. The work later switched to a subscription-based model and made nan app disposable for free successful 2019. After backlash from users, nan institution gave anyone who paid for nan web aliases desktop apps earlier nan pricing changes free life access to Pocket Casts Plus, its ad-free premium subscription service. 

The app was acquired by Automattic successful 2021, and nan Pocket Casts Lifetime memberships were rebranded to “Pocket Casts Champion” successful August 2024. A support page says nan rebrand would “not alteration thing astir your membership” and makes nary mention of introducing ads. Some users connected these free life subscriptions are now seeing ads, however, and are being directed to salary nan $40 yearly interest for Plus to region them.

“I conscionable want nan adverts gone – I still don’t request nan different Plus features,” said one personification connected nan Pocket Casts forum. “This alteration makes maine consciousness that you’re trying to summation your conversion complaint by making nan guidelines merchandise worse.”

In nan aforesaid forum post, a Pocket Casts worker said that nan only measurement to region nan banner ads is to salary for a Plus subscription, and that they were introduced to “sustain nan continued activity and attraction of nan app.” This conflicts pinch a connection from Mullenweg, however, who says nan ads appearing connected life personnel accounts are a bug, and that nan institution is moving to hole it.

“Anyone who has ever paid for Pocket Casts, moreover earlier Automattic acquired it, should not spot ads,” Mullenweg said successful a Hacker News thread. “I don’t judge successful ‘lifetime’ purchases, and we don’t create caller ones astatine Automattic, but we person honored nan bequest group who paid a one-time interest to Pocket Casts erstwhile they were a startup pinch fundamentally what we telephone a “Champions” account, which is simply a life you-get-the-best-of-whatever-we-sell deal.” 

There are only a fewer 1000 life Pocket Casts members, according to Mullenweg, adding that it “seemed amended to effort and make it much of a gift than effort to migrate group to what is really a sustainable business model.” We person reached retired to Pocket Casts for comment.