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Castro Podcast Player App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
Castro Podcast Player app received 85 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Castro Podcast Player? Can you share your negative thoughts about castro podcast player?
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Castro Podcast Player for Negative User Reviews
✓ App no longer downloads podcastsFor the last few days, the app no longer downloads new episodes giving a timeout error. I can only assume the app uses its own server to collate episodes as a proxy, and this sever has gone down. So far no response from the developer. I’m. It even able to export my podcasts to switch to a different app..Version: 2023.15
✓ Dead appThis app has been inactive yet it still charges a subscription for most features. been a user since day one even before the app relaunch. sad to see the state of it..Version: 2022.1
✓ I really want to like CastroCastro seemed like the perfect podcast app for me. I’m not big on playlists, and I subscribe to around 40 podcasts. The inbox and queue was a great fit. It had some flaws that just proved fatal. First, I had problems with Castro and CarPlay. If I tied to resume, in CarPlay, a podcast episode I began when not connected to CarPlay, then the “time indicator” would move when I pressed play, but I would get no sound. I would have to hit pause and play again, sometimes several times, before I got sound. Secondly, Castro seems to really want strong WiFi our cellular connections. Several times while in weak connections, Castro would not be able to download podcasts. Overcast and Pocket Casts could download. They would be slow, but they could download. Finally, there is no way to automatically sort podcast episodes. Often, when I discover a new podcast, I like to download a lot of its back catalog. You can do this in Castro (by manually downloading each episode) but you couldn’t select for the episodes to be sorted by publication date or shutting like that. I found these problems to be extremely aggravating because Castro is so close to being my perfect app. When something comes so close, it just makes the “shortfalls” so much more significant..Version: 2020.10
✓ Best podcast app for me, but…I use Castro now for years and for me it is the best one out there because of its inbox queuing system. This is the best format for me to consume the podcasts I want to hear regularly and keep the rest just in the inbox. The recent update 2023.1 was a great overhaul introducing nice features to keep track of not listened episodes. The support (email through the app) when I used it is also good and responsive and I hope it still is. Now the to the “But”: Castro needs a connection to their servers to be able to download podcasts. If Castro’s servers are down you are stuck and this happened on a few occasions. This tbh is unacceptable as every podcast is hosted anyways on different servers. I regard this decision as a very bad one unless there is a good reason to do this other than monitoring or grabbing statistics. Still this isn’t enough for me to move to a different app because as I already said Castro functions exactly like my brain is wired..Version: 2023.1
✓ Declining quality and spreading extremist contentWell this used to be my favorite Podcast app but I suppose after almost 3 years of daily use I’ll be looking elsewhere. As others have noted, the quality and functionality have both severely declined in recent months; not all podcast feeds are updating properly where they do update seamlessly on other apps, and so if your favorite podcast is available “wherever podcasts are found” you still may not see it on Castro. Episodes that only partially download will mark themselves as “complete” when you finish them, so 5 minutes into your episode your app tells you that you’re done listening and you can’t replay it. But far worse, they automatically subscribed me to Matt Walsh and Megyn Kelly. This far right propaganda - unapologetically fascist in the case of Matt Walsh - is so unconscionably offensive to me as a trans woman. this is where I go to listen to podcasts about protecting myself in the world from people exactly like Matt Walsh and now the app wants to shove this crap down my throat. Absolutely not. Have a fun weepy slide down the shower wall this evening devs and product managers, you are spreading content that is going to get someone killed. From the bottom of my heart, I hope this app crashes and burns now. Shame on you.Version: 2022.1
✓ Too many bugsAt first I loved Castro and that’s saying something coming from Outcast. The look and feel was right up my street. So much so I subscribed to a year thought. I love how it manages your podcasts and how the chapter skip works is a great idea. Then the bugs started. First it was the Apple Watch app not working. No amount of turning on and off worked. This seems to be sorted but there’s a delay that says can’t connect to iPhone then works. Then car play was buggy not showing my lists. Resetting the app solves it but you can’t do that when your driving. If anything happens on the phone like a call it doesn’t start to play the podcast again. All in all it’s a fab app but the bugs have now sent me back to Overcast. Real shame but not worth a subscription when overcast has the same features for free..Version: 2019.1
✓ SupportMy favorite podcast app. This is my go to app for podcasts.....for now. This app gives you a logical new way to organize your podcasts which is a breath of fresh air when it seems like podcast apps just try to out feature their competition while all being similar in their interfaces. This one focuses on organization which is both simple and smart. Why knock off 2 stars? App support seems to be lacking. Clicking feedback link in the app sends an email to the devs. The catch? No acknowledgement and no fix. One of the 6 podcasts I subscribe to doesn't display entire episode history and only shows 6 total episodes out of 30+ that I can listen to. Apple podcasts and my second fav podcast app 'pocket casts' both display the entire episode history. Feedback sent and issue still exists. As much as I hate to say it if I have to go another app to hear one of my podcasts that doesn't work in this app I will drop Castro for the simple reasoning that if a paid app cannot provide me the content that free podcasting app built into iOS can, it's time to move onto something better. Just not practical to have multiple apps that have the simple function of playing a sound file..Version: 2.5.3
✓ Can we organize a takeover of this appThis app has the greatest design I’ve seen of any podcasting app out there but the reliability sucks. Is there anyone else like me that would even welcome some team at Apple to just rip off this design but actually make it work for more than a month straight - something happened with this company over the past year and I’m going to point the finger of blame at whatever or whoever that change was as this app just infuriates me now to no end and yet I love the beauty of the concept. I feel like I’m in an abusive relationship with this app..Version: 2023.15
✓ Does not work well on Apple WatchI have been looking long and hard to find a podcast app that actually works on Apple Watch. I have tried Overcast without success and have also now struck out with Castro. Castro has a hard time syncing to the watch and it also will not stream episodes even though I have a cellular watch. If I choose the first title on my list and ask it to play, it will act as though it is playing that episode while actually playing something totally different and random. Today it insisted that it was playing, but refused to do anything. Incredibly frustrating! I cannot even get it to sync using the “sync now” option. Currently it is trying to sync, and it has been working on two episodes for 45 minutes without success. I’m paying for Castro Plus which is quite expensive. Castro also offers no support even though you can supposedly “email support”. There is never a reply. Skip Castro and keep looking if you own an Apple Watch!.Version: 2021.7
✓ Not really user-friendlyI do not like this app, but much much better, then iTunes.Version: 2024.3
✓ UnplayableNone of the podcasts play after recent update.Version: 2019.5
✓ Used to be greatThis app used to be way ahead of the pack, but after years of little-to-no care it’s gotten buggy and fallen behind on features. There are still a few things it does well but given its downward trajectory it’s hard to recommend anymore..Version: 2022.1
✓ Fix the bugSkipping bug is so annoying! Deleted the app and switched to Overcast. Please improve your product first if you want users to pay..Version: 2020.16
✓ Remains the best for me, but…I’m a subscriber to Castro and I find the unique queue/triage system fantastically useful along with powerful per-podcast options. The app still works well for me but there have been ‘server’ problems recently and no updates in the time of my most recent subscription. I try to take an approach that if an app still works for you, keep using it, especially if it has features you rely on. I am a bit worried about Castro’s future though..Version: 2022.1
✓ DifficultYet another bloody application where you can't find the function you want. Make a wrong move and the episode you're listening to is gone for ever. Presumably there is a way to use it which seems totally intuitive to the developer, but how many times do I really want to stumble around, swiping this and that looking for a function. What's wrong with a clear home icon on every screen from which every function can be found in 1 or at most 2 steps. Uninstalled.Version: 3.1.3
✓ From full buyer to freemium userI bought it a year ago. It’s decent, but it definitely has its drawbacks. I bought it outright and paid $4.99 for it. There was no subscriber model at the time. Then a year or two later, they screw over their early adopters, put up ads and charge you to get rid of them even though they’ve made almost zero worthwhile improvements. The app still can’t do search properly. Unless you type in the exact starting words of a podcast, it won’t find it. Any slight variation won’t pick up the name of the podcast you want. How they have a worse search function than the normal apple Podcast app is beyond me. Also, you can’t search by episode name or guest. So you have to search for stuff on the apple Podcast app, and then switch over to Castro once you find what you’re looking for..Version: 2020.1
✓ If I can't import, I'm not going to use itYou put direct import from Overcast behind your premium paywall. Dumb. Then your "copy to Castro" feature to import an OPML file limits to only importing 100 podcasts. Well, that's a good way to deter a heavy podcast user from even considering your app..Version: 2020.7
✓ Mostly greatI love the triage feature. I am relatively new to podcasts so it is perfect for me prioritizing what I want to listen to. An having consistent issues with podcasts stopping and not restarting despite being downloaded. I am often finishing the podcast on a different app which is not ideal..Version: 2.6.2
✓ Great app except it doesn’t workI’ve used this app for years but now it won’t download episodes of my favourite podcast. It throws an error “‘episode name here’ failed to download. Cannot parse response. “ the support page from the developer is useless. I have no way to report this error to get it fixed and yet I’ve paid good money for this now useless app. Not ok!.Version: 2022.1
✓ Stand alone watch playback does not workStand alone watch playback has been buggy since its release and the developer refuses to fix the issues. I am not sure why they would advertise the functionality, let alone be included in the paid subscription. I have reached out to the developer to fix the problem and they have ignored the problem. Do not subscribe to this app for stand alone watch playback, it does not work..Version: 2020.6
✓ The player for heavy listeners? NOT.I’m the embodiment of a heavy listener. I tried to import an OPML file with several hundred podcast subscriptions yesterday. I fell asleep waiting. It never finished and now the app B is in a strange state where I have done subscriptions and am missing most of them and there’s no easy way to make it right. I’m definitely not going to pay $2 a month for an app that makes listening to podcasts harder. It’s like they aren’t even using their own app as hard as they claim. There’s no way to do bulk operations. You have to do it one at a time. No bueno. I have notifications turned off in the application. And I still get a notification every time a new thing is downloaded. I don’t understand how this is such a highly rated app when it seems to pay no attention to the little important things that make truly excellent apps great. It’s pretty. But so what. I’d rather have an ugly app that actually went through a decent QA review..Version: 2024.3
✓ NO VIDEO SUPPORT!Didn’t even say this is App Store. Waist of my money..Version: 2.5.3
✓ Its a shame that I can’t use this App to its fullest potentialUnfortunately my last review was completely different. However it seems that it is not possible to easily change the filter setting with VoiceOver enabled. Selecting the. None option does nothing here. Added to that feeds which sometimes fail to download which is an issue which changes in frequency, and I really don’t know weather to keep this or go somewhere else. I love the cue feature but the app is losing its ease of use factor over the others..Version: 2023.6
✓ Good design but one big problemThe iPhone app is well designed and has all the functions I want. I went premium to be able to sync to my Apple Watch. Syncing works well (much better than the native Apple podcast app) and there’s an option to manually push episodes to your watch (love!). One big problem on the Apple Watch app though: when hitting play on episodes of one particular podcast (The Economist Radio), other random podcasts will play. Seems like the episodes of this podcast are getting matched up with the wrong audio. Please fix this! If it’s not resolved soon, I will be taking my business elsewhere..Version: 2021.1
✓ Promoted contentI’ve been using Castro for years and think it has a great interface and a handful of really clever features - I’ve even recommended it to people. However, I’m really disappointed that I’ve started to see advertisements in my feed, and that to remove this feature I have to pay for the premium version. I paid for Castro in the first place and it wasn’t cheap. Retrospectively adding advertisements and asking me to pay more to remove them is dishonest and anticonsumer. If the developers don’t remove this feature soon then I’ll be switching back to the standard Apple podcast app..Version: 2019.15
✓ GreatReally clever. Definitely recommend. Things that could be improved: - search is awful. Have to search in Apple podcasts to find something then once you know the exact title of the podcast come back to Castro - you can’t look through episodes of a podcast (except first and last) unless you subscribe to that podcast. Assume it’s just a bug, but annoying - concept doesn’t really work for some podcasts like Apollo 11 where you want to see the next ones when you’ve listened to the last ones.Version: 2020.8
✓ Used to be goodThe decline has been steady for what feel like a year and Overcast has been an easy transition this past month.Version: 2023.15
✓ Great…until recent update.I have been using Castro for years and am a paid subscriber. It has (had?) the best UI of all the podcast apps. I occasionally check on several others to see what, if anything, has changed enough to knock Castro from my #1 spot. It safely outshines them all. But this most recent update? Just terrible. I don’t mind that it looks a little different. But seriously, when you delete a show from the Queue it should go away. One push of the “X” and that’s it. Why would deleting something then give me the option to save, play or shuffle the queue position? Just delete it and go back to the remaining queue like before. Same issue with episodes in the Inbox. Updates should make things cleaner and easier. I’m sure this was not the intended result. Please fix this with another update sooooooon! A near perfect app is now a clunky mess..Version: 2023.3
✓ Bad DevDev is rude and will not take any type of questions. Horrible experience, and a bad app..Version: 2021.1
✓ Major design change since subscription modelI remember having bought this in 2020 for it’s innovative design but they’ve redesigned the app to be like any other app. Also, a little disappointing that they didn’t grandfather early patrons like me into the Plus subscription like PocketCasts did. My daily driver used to be PocketCasts but I’m now slowly transitioning to Snipd for the cool AI summary and snippet features and community options it has..Version: 2023.8
✓ Seriously declined in qualityI bought Castro years ago and found it to be one of the best podcast players available at the time. The inbox was a unique idea and perfect for someone subscribed to many podcasts. Since then the app has received many additions that have made it far less enjoyable: - the podcast thumbnails are not stored in the cache and have to be loaded every time you open the app, resulting in a list of podcast episodes with empty thumbnails. This makes it impossible to use the inbox as intended as you can’t see which episode belongs to which podcast. - Suddenly there are supported podcasts ads obscuring the list view of your episodes. This is not acceptable in a paid app! - More and more aggressive tactics to push the subscription service on user base. I understand the necessity to earn money for continuous support, but why not release a paid Castro 2 and let the customer decide to upgrade, instead of locking features behind a paywall and pushing them onto the users within the app. The usability of this app has seriously declined and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone in it’s current state. You’ll find better, and sometimes free, podcast players that do things far better..Version: 2020.1
✓ Best podcast app aroundThey have had some serious problems with their servers recently but apparently they’ve just been bought out and improvements are on the way. I hope so. I tried all the other podcast apps and none of them work as well as Castro. With other apps I feel like I’m drowning in the UI just to play an episode. Castro is clean and direct and easy to use. Hope the new owners don’t mess too much with it but focus instead on improving the backend..Version: 2023.15
✓ Can’t download and can’t get supportI hate to write this review, because I bought Castro for $30 and loved it for about three months. During this time, I subscribef to all my favorite podcasts, found new ones and set them all to start in so I would miss the commercials. Then, I started having trouble downloading certain podcasts, which turned into an inability to download or stream ANY podcasts. I went to the support selection on the menu and sent logs and pleas for Help. In an effort to fix my problem, I tried all kinds of things myself, including turning cellular download off and on as well as deleting the app, and reinstalling it. When I reinstalled it, I was unable to get my subscription to activate so I sent another email to Castro through the support link. There has been no response. I’ve gone back to Downcast for my Podcasts for now but I’m writing this review in the hope that I will finally gee a response from Castro. I’ll bet the answer to my issue isn’t even that difficult..Version: 2023.15
✓ Thanks for ruining the user experienceThis was a great free podcast app. Completely met all my needs without having to opt-in to the paid Plus version. But it was of course too good to last. With this update came “promoted content” aka ads. Naturally I can only opt out of the ads by paying. No way, no how - I'll be looking elsewhere for my podcasts if this new “feature” persists..Version: 2019.15
✓ Broken on Apple Watch and CarPlayI really enjoy the aps layout and features, unfortunately bugs make it almost unusable. Apple Watch and CarPlay bugs have been consistent and reproducible for the 11 months I have payed for the subscription. I won’t be renewing once my year is up. Very disappointed and would not recommend if you want to use on the Apple Watch or CarPlay..Version: 2022.1
✓ Long running bugsStill the best podcasting app in terms of UX. But the app has become too buggy and there's barely any improvements to these basic bugs. If you have a filter, but turned it off, the filter becomes automatically selected on next launch. Playback does not respect the queue any more. After an episode ends, it’s almost random what plays next. App crashes while playing audio in the background often. CarPlay app is buggy and flaky..Version: 2023.15
✓ Guess it’s dead nowShame because this was my go-to for years..Version: 2023.15
✓ Devi’s rudeDev only wants to take your money, and dump you. DO NOT PURCHASE. No support, no help, and rude customer communication. Unbelievable. Not to mention the app is more expensive than their superior competitors..Version: 2021.3
✓ Buggy with CarPlayA nice app overall. UI beats Overcast every time, especially the inbox and queue functionality. It’s a really pleasant app to use and the look at, compared to Overcast, which I used for a long time and to me always felt homemade, rather than professionally developed, at least on the front end. I find The inbox is almost always current. I like the streaming of podcasts, which saves space on my phone. I often airplay to my HomePod, which works great, or Bluetooth to a device. My one complaint: it doesn’t always play nice with CarPlay. Sometimes the library won’t scroll past the first screen. Sometimes the app freezes on the screen on my car, but works fine using the phone. I’ll need to start a podcast from the phone and CarPlay takes a while to catch up, sometimes 8-10 minutes into a podcast. Sometimes both CarPlay and the phone freeze. I need to unplug and reply to get it going. Sometimes I need to force-quit Castro. Once in a while I need to actually restart my iPhone. Kinda annoying. I never had these issues with Overcast and CarPlay. I have these issues in both of my vehicles, an Audi and a Toyota, so I don’t think it’s the manufacturer’s CarPlay implementation, but I’m not a tech guy so who knows. It’d be great if the Castro folks could take a look at this bug. Thanks!.Version: 2020.16
✓ This is one of the most poorly developed applications I’ve ever paid forIt’s really staggering how they took such a simple thing like a medium player and made it the most resource piggish thing possible. This app is constantly calling out to the Internet using data downloading things like thumbnails constantly. It crashes constantly no matter how long you’re on Wi-Fi you’ll never have all of your shows downloaded. The free apps of every version of everything else I’ve used is better than this. Wish I had tried before I buy..Version: 2023.13
✓ Best podcast listening experience with one large issueI’ve used this app as my preferred podcast app for a few years now before becoming so frustrated with it that I switched back to Apple’s default. I’ve now moved back to Castro for the superior interface but the issue that drove me to ditch it the first time still persists. The app constantly drops audio output over AirPlay any time it is paused for more than a few seconds or the next podcast in the queue begins to play. This happens every time. I have to manually disconnect from the speaker and reconnect, and then it works again. I’ve reached out to support in the past and they had no fix and just told me it shouldn’t do that. No other app has this issue on my network, I’m using different routers than the first time, frankly there’s no way it’s my network that’s causing this. I wish this could be addressed as it greatly impacts my listening experience. Previously, I subscribed to the annual pass, but until this issue is fixed, I’ll stick with the free version. Any help on this is appreciated..Version: 2022.1
✓ Hmmm…There was a time when I really liked this app. I paid for the Castro Plus upgrade for several years. I am always looking for something better and found several other podcast players I liked better so moved on. In the last few days I have looked again at Castro (my current player of choice - Overcast - has a few issues and the developer seems uninterested in addressing). So I downloaded Castro and began the setup process. Why did I bother. This has to be one of the most awkward apps to configure, especially when compared with alternatives like PocketCast. When you get it going it’s Ok on a phone but is plain ugly on my iPad. There is no iCloud sync, you backup one device and then restore that backup to the other device. REALLY!!! Four of my twenty three subscribed podcasts have no artwork and no way to restore it (all podcast artwork is there in PocketCast and there’s a simple way to restore it if needed). The triage of new episodes is a really nice feature. In summary, Castro has been uninstalled and Overcast is not far behind. Regards, Peter.Version: 2022.1
✓ Not performant on old phonesThis might be a great app if you have a very new iPhone. On older iPhones, Castro freezes for 10 - 45 seconds after most simple actions (pressing the play button, rearranging a podcast, pausing, switching tabs, most actions). I used to believe this delay is caused by local buffering, but I now believe the developers are novice programmers who don’t understand how to deal with lists lazily, or handle dispatch queues. Either way, this is not a pleasant podcast player if you’re on an old iPhone. This is the last review I’ll write. I’m uninstalling Castro now..Version: 2019.11
✓ Stops when runningI use this app on my Apple Watch when running . I also use map my run to record my runs. Unfortunately when map my run gives an update every kilometre Castro stops playing and I have to go to the app to restart. Very annoying . When I used Apple Podcasts it would pause when map my run gave an update and then resume . I contacted Castro support about this several days ago but they haven’t replied ..Version: 2022.1
✓ Excellent app when it’s working 🙄App is not working again… this is exhausting, i’m paying a subscription and every two weeks something is broken.Version: 2023.15
✓ The watch sync is buggy!I bought the premium for the watch sync feature because I have an Apple Watch without cellular and I like to go out without my phone just with the watch and listen to my podcasts. Unfortunately the watch sync is so buggy. Out of 10 episodes there might be only one or two that actually get synced to the watch and it still shows every episode has been synced on the app. Then when you play on the watch, all of these different episodes plays the same single copy that synced without prompting any errors. It’s so frustrating because you can’t even tell whether it is synced properly until you actually listen to it and also there’s nothing you can do but deleting all of them and sync again, which is going to be unsuccessful again!.Version: 2020.14
✓ Dead AppDevelopment seems dead. It’s too bad - has the best UI design and workflow of all the apps out there..Version: 2022.1
✓ Excellent save for one issueExcellent podcast player. There is one issue that bugs me personally though and that is if network conditions are spotty, the podcast dings out and then gives a red notification in the app stating as much. I work outside and have to wear gloves while driving machinery so although the network might be spotty it comes back right away. However the episode I was listening to does not attempt to reconnect and even if I select it again it still does not play. I have to quit the app restart it and then when I select the episode I was listening to it starts from the beginning which is annoying if I am a long ways into an already long podcast. This isn’t something I can just stop working for and deal with. It’s not much more than an inconvenience any other time, but it’s forcing me to try other apps that don’t have this issue, and since I really love the work put into Castro and enjoy its many other advantages. Please fix it. I’m happy to give it top rating regardless but sure am counting on you to read this and fix it. Sorry but had no o cancel the subscription as the issue of stopping the podcast stream for anything but the clearest signal has not been addressed at all. Moved on to other players that can keep streaming should the connection weaken. Don’t understand why this was so difficult to do but maybe in the future somewhere down the road it will be..Version: 2020.8
✓ No ipad supportOn ipad, there’s just a small sideways screen. :-(.Version: 2020.10
✓ Works Well - Is the App still active?Castro has a lot of great features. Chapter pre-selection, trim silence, share clips, enhance voices…it all works really well. The triage system makes sorting though podcasts easy. The watch sync can be a bit unreliable, and they’ve acknowledged the watch app is basically a buggy mess until further notice, so if that’s why you’re getting this app, look elsewhere. Update: they are virtually silent on twitter and there have been no app updates for months. Have to think they’re out of business or very close. I won’t subscribe again until they come back to life a bit. Update October 2022 - been months since an update. Abandonware..Version: 2022.1
✓ Someone finally did itUpdated review: When Castro was new, it came with some original and game-changing features. Its queue alone made it my daily podcast app. Other apps have caught up, however, and Castro has remained the same. Overcast has a good queue now, and also has iPadOS and macOS apps that sync playback. You could even make the argument that Castro has gone backwards; I’m still annoyed about the removal of landscape mode. Castro is a good app, but has failed to make appreciable improvements. After years of being a proselytizer, I’m moving on. Original review: Castro is the best podcasting app. Someone (Supertop) finally figured how to bring all these features together in an intuitive and useful way. I've been very happy with it since I first got it. The way I listen to many podcasts is finally painless and even enjoyable. Here's what I do: - Listen to new episodes of podcasts I like as they come out - Listen to old episodes of those podcasts - sometimes in order, sometimes randomly - Keep favorite episodes of those podcasts that I can listen to on demand With Castro's queue, inbox, archives, and favorites, I can do all of those things without having to blast my entire queue and start from scratch each time. It's so nice! I used to use 3 separate podcast apps to listen to podcasts how I want to listen to them. Now I have one and only one: Castro!.Version: 2022.1
✓ Castro is freezing and not streamingCame here as a last resort. For the past 2 days Castro has stopped streaming episodes. I can’t find any solutions on the Castro website for this particular problem and there are no options in the settings to deal with it. I’ve tried archiving some episodes but the app crashes after I’ve done that a few times (and it’s pretty well crashing for no reason anyway). My next step will be to uninstall it - just hope I don’t lose all my subscriptions..Version: 2.6.2
✓ Not authenticated error. Why?I am on a cruise ship and just paid for expensive internet. Now I get not authenticated error. Why? Sucks!.Version: 2019.11
✓ Nice concept, poor executionI wanted to love this app. But a parade of serious bugs ended with me deleting it today. First, it refused to download any podcast episode, and would not let me scrub through them at all. Then later somehow this got fixed, and now it's just stopped updating my podcasts altogether. I was wondering why I hadn't had any episodes in a while — even though I was subscribed Castro just didn't download them. Now I have to catch up in a new app. The basic mechanics of a podcast app need to work before I can entrust them with my podcasts..Version: 3.2.1
✓ They curled up and died.This has been my favorite podcast app for 5+ years. Their server is down and communication is ambiguous. The end is here. So long, friend..Version: 2023.15
✓ Slick but really confusingI’ve been using Castro about a month now. It confuses me greatly still but am fine as long as I just choose to ignore those bits and streamline my usage away from the mysterious Inbox. Yes, I still don’t get the point of the Inbox when things can be in the queue but not yet downloaded and it took me a while to realise archive = delete (why not just call it Trash or Bin or something?) It seems this whole triage approach to podcasts is fraught with potential confusion and unexpected states (many’s the time I’ve had something stuck in a Waiting To Download limbo in the queue (no download icon) and the only fix is to archive then re-add to the queue. On the plus side, the animations and drag and drop make the UI a joy to use and once you get that the player sits *under* the main UI the whole double tab bar thing makes a lot more sense..Version: 3.0.1
✓ Still salty about the bait and switchI paid for the app at first, then they turned it into a subscription model. Yucky!!.Version: 2020.5
✓ So many little issuesI can’t express my frustration enough. Over all the app is very buggy, it will constantly freeze requiring you to close and open again. God forbid you have a timer going, app with pause podcast then lose your listening position. I have been using this app for serval years and it has become worse and worse over time. I have finally moved back over to the overcast app. Way better app. Overcast actually has a way better privacy policy and explanation as well..Version: 2023.15
✓ Good but not perfectLoved this app and have been using for years, but it seems to be getting buggy. Popular podcasts like This American Life seem to only be added to the app every few months. Quite a few of the mid size podcasts aren’t available..Version: 2023.15
✓ Clear all button missing InboxfromHello. The clear or button remover from the inbox is a dealbreaker for me. Why was it removed and will it be brought back?. If not, I’m gonna have to leave..Version: 2023.5
✓ WeirdStopped working?? like completely.Version: 2023.15
✓ Sad to see the state of the appBeen a user since Castro 1. It was the best podcast app on the App Store. Unfortunately I’ve finally made the choice to cancel my subscription after moving my podcasts over to Overcast. Despite Overcast being harder to use, it’s being actively developed and improved on unlike Castro which was abandoned for over a year. It’s reliable and doesn’t have the server downtime that Castro frequently suffers from. Since supertop sold the app to Tiny, the experience hasn’t been where it needs to be and an unnecessary UI update isn’t going to fix that. Maybe I’ll come back and see how it is in the distant future..Version: 2023.8
✓ Love HateI love it so much except it stops working 75% of the time… interface is perfect and I am finally switching off Castro bc nothing will load..Version: 2023.15
✓ Stopped workingNo longer download’s podcasts, so bye!.Version: 2023.15
✓ ABANDONED: DO NOT SUBSCRIBEUpdate: My previous review was hopeful in light of a flurry of useless updates. Since those updates it’s been total radio silence from the developers. Their servers are down now, so you can’t listen to new episodes and searching for podcasts is broken. Safe to say this is abandonware and you should NOT download or subscribe. The developers, after a year of inactivity are FINALLY updating the app. Unfortunately they’re completely unresponsive to support requests, emails, tweets, etc. They don’t take into consideration any feedback and have started adding features to the app that nobody is asking for, rather than fixing and improving what is desperately needed. There are basic issues and missing features in CarPlay and the Apple Watch. For example, CarPlay has no chapter support — something the much cheaper competitor, Overcast, has had for years. Castro is slow and buggy when reordering podcasts in the queue. The app frequently cuts out audio completely when trying to play via CarPlay or when switching AirPlay inputs. Lock Screen playback controls almost never work. The app is slow to load, and seems to get slower with each update. The most recent new features have had ugly UI that doesn’t match the rest of the app (which looks great). Please, please, prioritize bug fixes and improvements to existing features on all platforms. And PLEASE, a reply to an email or tweet every now and then would be MUCH appreciated..Version: 2023.15
✓ Great functionality, despicable bloatLoved the functionality of this app but cannot understand the insane data bloat it has become. I have 4 episodes queued. I realize that episodes are stored locally to make playback faster. So why does the app take up 27GB of my very precious iPhone storage? Have done a ton of research and can’t find answers so I am uninstalling and switching to any other app with favourable reviews. Hate that I’m forced to this but apps are uninstalling on their own to make room for Castro. The idea that I would want to pay for this app even if it fixed this issue is ludicrous. Have spent a ton of time with Castro and I’m sad it’s come to this. Peace out devs..Version: 2022.1
✓ Create playlists not possibleI just want the simple feature of creating separate playlists of podcasts and this is not possible in this app..Version: 2019.2
✓ Folders feature is broken.This is my favorite podcast player, but I’m giving it a low rating right now, because the new feature, folders, works pretty much the opposite of how you would think it does. When you have the folder up on the screen and press play, it plays the first episode on the list but then goes immediately to the next item on your main queue. And when you have the main queue up on your screen, and you play the first episode on it, it plays the next episode on the folder rather than the next episode on the main queue. This is baffling and does not make any sense. Also, I don’t think that an episode should appear on the main queue at all if it’s in a folder. That just is confusing and counterintuitive. If they fix these bugs, then I would definitely be willing to give the app five stars once again. I’ve tried emailing support, but never got any response..Version: 2023.11
✓ Love the UI&UX, but missing featuresThis is the best podcast player I’ve used—feature-rich, very customisable, easy to use, and looks great. The subscription prices are also reasonable (the annual subscription is at the max. end of reasonable). I switched from Overcast because Castro has Overcast’s two best features (Voice Boost, and Smart Speed), AND a superior UX that is actually intuitive. However, after a few months with Castro, I’m returning to Overcast because Castro is missing some important features I really need: -“Mark as played” function on episodes -Playlists: so we can create curated collections of episodes If Castro would at least have playlists, I’d come back to it in a heartbeat..Version: 2020.10
✓ I already paid for ad free.I bought this app, thinking that it would be a good ad free service. Now, since the release of Castro plus, I guess the older users need to pay to upgrade to continue to receive a service that they already bought. Looking for another app, considering..Version: 2020.6
✓ BuggyNice looking app and love that it supports private podcast subscriptions. The app is buggy. If I’m playing a podcast and it pauses after I leave my car then either the podcast I was listening to either doesn’t continue playing when I attempt to continue the episode which then forces me to exist the app and then having to force quit the app and restart it for the episode. Sometimes when this happens the app completely loses my progress in the podcast. If this is a 1hr+ episode it’s incredibly frustrating as I can’t find where I left off without having to spend scales trying to find the place. This happens 1-2 times per week. Never happens with PocketCasts. I would stick to PocketCasts but my private subscriptions do not work. If they fix these issues I’m sure to subscribe..Version: 2019.10
✓ Buggy and bad syncThere's a lot of things to like about the Castro app on iPhone including plenty of flexibility and a decent interface. The problem is unreliability. The Apple Watch app is incredibly buggy, will cut in and out, switching from one episode to another at random, deleting epsiodes a few seconds after they start . . . etc. I've e-mailed the developer a couple of times and gotten a pretty blasé response saying he knows it's buggy. That would be fine for an app in beta, but not one with a paid subscription. I'm switching back to a different app for now..Version: 2021.1
✓ Unfortunately I’ve been forced to stop using itThis was my go-to podcast player. I paid for the premium version and for the last year it has been nigh on perfect. Unfortunately, a couple of months ago, it stopped playing some of my favourite podcasts. It would download them ok, but would always display an error when trying to play. I contacted the app’s support several times (sometimes with a response, sometimes without) and they promised to sort it out. A few emails later and they have stopped responding and the issue has not been resolved. It’s a shame because I really liked the app and I was happy to pay for the premium version. However I’d have to be an idiot to continue to pay for it and use it, when it won’t do the very basic thing it is supposed to. I am now using a different podcast player and have no issues whatsoever with the playing of the same podcasts that Castro developed a fault with..Version: 2019.7
✓ Latest release seems buggyThe latest update was a long time coming and seemingly “only” added categorisation labels to the top of queue/inbox, but I have a hunch that it also included a lot of changes behind the scenes as there are small UI bugs now which weren’t there before. Also the app’s Twitter account seems dormant which is concerning. I’m a paid subscriber for this app so I hope these things will be fixed..Version: 2023.3
✓ Still no trim silences?UPDATE: Lowering my review to two stars. The fact that there's still not trim silences is kind of unbelievable. It feels at this point like the developers are just folding their arms and pouting and putting their feet down because they're tired of the requests, but I've listened to their podcasts and I know they understand that this is easily the biggest, most requested missing feature. It just baffles me that they would rather dedicate so much development time to other features than just buckle down and add this one that is absolutely standard in today's podcast player market. Not to mention they still don't save playback settings per podcast or support chapter markers. What? It's a wonderful, unique app in a lot of ways, but it's missing crucial features that hold it back. It's kind of heartbreaking. ORIGINAL: I want to love Castro, but to me, trim silences should be considered a standard feature in a modern podcast app. I've tried to get into Castro so many times now because they add such cool stuff with their big updates and the general hook of treating podcasts like an email inbox, but it's been months and trim silences, a long-requested feature, is still nowhere to be seen. (As well, I want Castro to remember playback speed settings for each podcast.) So yet again, back to boring old Overcast for me..Version: 2.6.1
✓ Good app but pretty buggyGreat podcast queue feature but the app seems to have bugs like not being able to connect to a podcast feed that you’re already subscribed too and it worked fine yesterday. It’s happening with all the feeds in the app and they work fine in other apps so assume it must be Castro. A lot of times episodes will fail to play or buffer a lot too. I’m on a 500mb wifi connection and network is running fine so also assume it’s Castro. If they fix the reliability issues it would be a 4 or 5 star.Version: 2023.15
✓ Misuse of subscriptions modelThere should be some kind of rule around app charging subscription and not keep their app up to date. This developer don’t care to update or improve their app for almost year and enjoying a free money. It keep crashing... Secondly no chromecast support Lastly I already paid full price for the app and suddenly start charging another monthly fees and locking down everything which matters if not paid is kind a tech burglary when most of the podcast app is free..Version: 2022.1
✓ Not what it wasThis used to be a wonderful app as Castro 2, one of my favourites for my iPhone. It let me subscribe to podcasts, and then before a long trip browse the ready ones and download them onto the phone for listening in an order of my choosing. Exactly what I wanted. There was a little hiccup with podcast subscriptions not being carried across to a new phone via the iTunes backup. They fixed that, even if too late for me. But Castro 3 has been a parade of bugs. There was the one where it skipped 20s of audio if you switched away from Bluetooth audio to another car source (seemingly fixed if not acknowledged). There was the one where each podcast in the queue woud start playing at a random time offset instead of the start - my favourite being the time it started 0s from the end and immediately deleted the download, and of course suppressed it from the subscription feed since it had already been "listened" to. That too is seemingly fixed now, and if it was in the release notes I missed it. The current showstopper is that it just sometimes freezes if you park the car and come back to it. Castro still has the audio focus, because I can see that from the home screen when I next leave the car. The app is now useless to me, because where I live it is not permitted to touch the phone even if stopped in a traffic jam. I wish I could be kinder, as this was an innovative app, but it's useless to me now..Version: 3.1.3
✓ Pretty reliable in a bad interfaceMost of its features work as intended, but the interface is kind of clumsy. Instead of giving me one download queue, it gives me a separate queue for each of my subscriptions. So I have to look through all my subscriptions to find what’s new. And while it deletes things that I’ve already listened to, it doesn’t remove them from the queues! It doesn’t even gray them out. It has lots of symbols displayed on the corners of the icons, but I haven’t found a glossary to tell me what they mean, and it’s not always obvious. What makes it worse is that it never uses tool tips, so I can’t hold down the button to find out what it does or what the symbols mean. On top of all that, episodes appear in my queues before they’ve even been downloaded. So if I’m listening while I’m driving, it sometimes stops and asks if I want to listen over cellular data. I never want to interact with it when I’m driving, and I live in a hilly area, where cellular data isn’t even available! Finally, I added some episodes to my playlist that hadn’t been downloaded yet. The next day, when I started listening, they still hadn’t been downloaded!.Version: 2022.1
✓ Used to be greatCastro had been my go to app for podcast. However, for the past year as a premium subscriber, I have submitted multiple crash reports including reports of CarPlay problems. and never heard back from the support team..Version: 2023.13
✓ Fails to connectCannot update any podcasts for three days now. No communication from the Dev. Overcast it is..Version: 2023.15
✓ The complacency of no competitionI was very excited when this app first came out. The side loading capability in particular and the player that works with it are unusual. The podcasting functions are on a par with others such as Overcast. Sadly, my enthusiasm has dwindled. I have sent multiple queries to the development and support team with no response. Most importantly, The sideloading functionality is so limited that one wonders why bother and not just use iCloud on your iPhone to play audio files. If the sideload function allowed searching within your side loads that might ameliorate this situation. Better still would be the ability to re-order the side loads either by alphabetical ordering or buy other parameters such as date created date loaded etc. as Audio grows, I’m sure someone will figure out these problems and solve them. For the time being lack of competition means that Castro is all there is for those who want to use such things right now. It’s tragic..Version: 2022.1
✓ Used to be the bestCastro used to be the best podcast app; the simplicity, the queue functionality, and a smart approach to managing lots of subscriptions into a daily playlist. Everything was well designed and worked smoothly. Yet, somehow in the last year or two things have become so buggy as to require hard-quitting the app nearly every day for it to work properly. Small bugs like the scroll bar being incorrect on a podcast archive have persisted for months. Overall it feels like this app has been abandoned, which is frustrating for me because I was a happy premium subscriber for years. I am cancelling that membership and I am at a point where I feel like I need to find, again, yet another podcast app that works reliably. I hope the Castro developers can find a path back to the simple joy their app had, but my experience as a user and a customer has gone from great to terrible over the last few years..Version: 2023.13
✓ Absolutely AwfulWhile I like the idea of the library management feature, the utter lack of standard features like sorting episodes by oldest to newest or marking episodes as played is baffling to me. As someone who was new to this app but not new to podcasts, I have shows I subscribe to that I’ve already listened to many many episodes of, yet there was no option to sort flag those I had previously heard as played, so I ended up with the entire episode library for those podcasts. Literally thousands of previously listened to episodes sitting in my library. Come on! These are basic functions inherent in all podcast apps... how are you going to exclude core functionality?? Also, every feature this app DOES have, including basics like playback speed, require a paid subscription. I get paying for the bells and whistles, but this is paying for the standard features that all other decent podcast players provide for free. Completely disappointed! Can’t get this app off my phone fast enough..Version: 2020.7
✓ Going downhill - switching to another appI used to love Castro, and have been using it for a couple of hours each day for the last few years. I have paid for the app. Recently, some changes have really started to make this app less enjoyable to use 1. Even though I have paid for Castro, they introduced a new pricing plan which treats me like I’m a free user and nags me to pay more 2. Ads are appearing in my feed and I can’t remove them without paying more 3. I have an older phone, and the app stutters and lags quite a lot. I have tried quite a lot of other podcast apps, and Castro is the worst performing of the bunch What I loved about Castro: 1. Clean design - has just the features you need and none that you don’t 2. The inbox / queue for deciding what you’ll listen to next. It’s great to subscribe to podcasts and have them in an inbox you can then pick and choose the best ones to listen to All in all, while I still love the great things abo Castro, I’m switching to another podcast player that runs smoothly and doesn’t serve ads to paying customers..Version: 2023.6
🙂 Castro Podcast Player Positive Reviews
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⛔ Castro Podcast Player Problems
