An application of Google used by millions of people around the world will be shut down in a few weeks. Users were warned of the shutdown months in advance, with the US version of the app disappearing in early April.
The Google Podcastswhich first launched in June 2018 on Android, is set to shut down for everyone else in June.
“Time has come”wrote a frustrated user on X, formerly Twitter. “Google Podcasts is starting to shut down for me. I don’t like Spotify, any podcast player recommendations? It’s best if it works for both web and mobile” he added.
Last September, the tech giant announced that sometime in 2024 it would retire Google Podcasts in favor of YouTube Music. Google said it will help podcast creators with the change, so users will likely still have access to the familiar titles they’ve come to love.
But that’s only true if they move to Google-owned YouTube Music.
“Better when they’re apart”
The move to remove Google Podcasts is part of efforts to turn YouTube into a destination for podcasts, music and video. It also follows the tombstone for Google Play Music, which shut down in December 2020.
“Maybe the Android ecosystem would be more popular if Google stopped forcing you to port your stuff to different apps,” wrote one user on Twitter.
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Shortly after the September announcement, another user wrote: “I don’t care if I sound like a grandpa. Why does every music service want me to listen to podcasts in their app so desperately? I don’t want to use my music app for podcasts. I want them separately. They’re better when they’re separate.”
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A third user added: “Loved Google Play Music, turned into YouTube Music. We will be forced to subscribe to YouTube Music”
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While Google has offered YouTube Music as an alternative, users are considering moving to Apple and Spotify’s podcast offerings.
Source: FOXreport.gr
