Google Podcasts service will be disabled soon, users have been urged to switch to YouTube Music

In a couple of days, Google will shut down its Podcasts app within the US. The company has began warning users of the app that they will need to transfer their subscriptions to YouTube Music by April 2 so as to be able to follow and stream their favorite shows in the longer term. Users who don’t do that immediately will still have additional time to migrate, but will not be able to stream from the Podcasts app after this date.

Google Podcasts application installed over 500 million times on Android devices all over the world, for over half a decade, it has been offering a straightforward and streamlined interface for locating, following and listening to podcasts, in addition to tools for adding podcasts via RSS feed. Unfortunately for fans of the app, the tech giant announced last September that it will begin phasing out the Podcasts app in early 2024 as a part of a broader plan to centralize audio services inside YouTube.

In 2020, YouTube Music proposed the same transition strategy to lure music listeners away from Google Play Music before its shutdown later that yr. However, the Google Podcasts app has been maintained for years because YouTube Music was only recently ready to support podcasts. At the tip of 2023, YouTube Music was able to support podcasts worldwide, and from February it also made it possible to upload its RSS feeds.

Moving podcasts to YouTube could help Google turn out to be an even bigger player on this space not only by combining efforts and specializing in it, but in addition because interest in video podcasts – which were already popular on YouTube – is growing. This week, for instance, Spotify struck a cope with Universal Music Group (UMG) to make video podcasts available to U.S. users of its streaming app, after announcing video podcast tests in 11 other markets all over the world in March.

Squeaking Computer was the primary to notice the closing date of Google Podcasts within the US and a help page on Google’s website confirms that users within the US will only be able to use the Podcasts app until the tip of March 2024. For those that miss the in-app pop-ups, Google will offer users overtime to save their subscription, allowing them to use the app’s export feature until July 2024 .

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but responded after publication that while it was still “closing” on its April 2 schedule for the United States, it had not yet released a schedule for the remainder of the world.

However, previous statements indicate that Google Podcasts is planned to be discontinued globally in 2024.