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Pocket Casts
iPhone, iPod Touch, Android
Once upon a time, there was an interesting podcast manager called Pocket Casts. Many people enjoyed Pocket Casts, but there were some who simply couldn't understand all it had to offer. The wizards who developed Pocket Casts realised this and created this support page. Perhaps the answers you seek can be found below.
General Questions
  1. Do you support password protected podcasts?
  2. What is your privacy policy?
  3. Do you have [podcast that I love]?
  4. Do you have any resources for linking to podcasts in Pocket Casts?
iOS Questions
  1. How do you delete an episode?
  2. Can I set a sleep timer in your app?
  3. My podcasts stopped playing in the background...what do I do?
  4. What's new in version 3.4?
Android Questions
  1. What's new in version 4.0?
  2. How does syncing/backup work?
  3. I can't see the lock screen controls?
  4. How do I auto download episodes?
  5. How do I create a manual playlist, and sort my episodes?
  6. How do I import a podcast by its feed URL?
  7. Can I add custom files to play in Pocket Casts?
  8. How do I stream episodes?
  9. How do I stop the app from automatically playing the next episode?
  10. How do I import my OPML file into Pocket Casts?
  11. How do I integrate Pocket Casts with the Tasker app?
  12. How do I recover my sync password?
General Answers
  1. Do you support password protected podcasts?
    We don't yet have support for podcasts that require a username and password to access, though we are planning on adding it.

    In the meantime ask the podcast author if they support encoding your username and password into the feed URL itself, and if so you may be able to use it in our app, by adding it through the custom import screen.

  2. What is your privacy policy?
    We don't have an official one, but as with all our apps we will never sell, or share your data with third parties.
  3. Do you have [podcast that I love]?
    Yes. And if we don't you can add it via its feed URL. Don't worry, we won't judge your terrible taste in podcasts.
  4. Do you have any resources for linking to podcasts in Pocket Casts?

    If you want to make it easy for your listeners to add a podcast to their Pocket Casts on Android or iOS, you should consider giving them a direct Pocket Casts link to your show.

    To do this, open the show in Pocket Casts, and choose to share the podcast, you'll be able to email yourself a URL that opens directly into the app, with your podcast front and center:

    We also have images you can use on your website


    (http://www.shiftyjelly.com/images/resources/pc_icon_full.png)


    (http://www.shiftyjelly.com/images/resources/pc_icon_small.png)

    Here's an example of how to use the small one:

    You're more than welcome to either link directly to our images, or host them yourself

iOS Answers
  1. How do you delete an episode?
    Swipe your finger from left to right, across the episode in the list view, and a delete button will appear.
  2. Can I set a sleep timer in your app?
    No, but you can use the built in Apple 'Clock' app as a sleep timer. Simply set a timer and tell it to 'sleep iPod' when done. This will pause Pocket Casts automagically.
  3. My podcasts stopped playing in the background...what do I do?
    Pocket Casts supports playing both audio and video podcasts with the app closed and or your screen locked. If you find that closing the app or locking the screen stops playback, then you can fix it just be restarting your phone. This is especially true of you naughty non-developers running iOS beta builds ;)
  4. What's new in version 3.4?

    Friends, countrymen...you over there, YES YOU. Gather around Pocket casts 3.4 is out!

    Firstly the list of things we like to call "Hey Rusty, fix the bugs you lazy swine":

    • Options now appear the right way around on landscape videos. We live in Down Under in Australia, so it was always the right way up for us, but correct it we did once someone told us even toilets flush differently for you posh Northern Hemisphereans. "Look at me, I'm so fancy, I live in the Northern Hemisphere. You guys are upside down, we're the best nah neh nah neh". Which we translate as: "We wished we lived in Australia like you guys, it sounds so awesome...assuming you survive the sharks, crocodiles and 256 other types of deadly animals...not to mention 730 types of flaura and fauna that will kill you if you so much as look at them!"
    • Show notes are now downloaded when you download an episode, so you too can read them at 35,000 feet with no WIFI. TAKE THAT FIRST CLASS PEEPS...yeah that's right, I'm reading show notes even though I paid 1/10th of what you did! BAM!
    • Fixed issues with podcasts resuming from the wrong spot under iOS 5.1. Not much funny about that I'm afraid.
    • Fixed the app moving up weirdness by no longer hiding the status bar. Trust us, it's for the best. You'll now get a small notification only when new episodes are available, which you can tap to see the episode :)
    • Progress bar and times now update when rewinding...you're welcome the ONE GUY in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE who noticed that they didn't.
    • You can now play video podcasts back to back in the playlist. Yes, bury the lead we did ;)
    • Added 33.25% more perfomans. No we didn't mis-spell that, our claim is far less verifiable that way...
Android Answers
  1. What's new in version 4.0?
    If you're upgrading from the v3, the short answer is a lot has changed, there's a handy page here of the things that will affect you the most:
    Upgrade Help
  2. How does syncing/backup work?

    To set up syncing, use the 'Setup Sync...' option in the left pull out menu. Once setup all your podcast subscriptions will be securely stored in the cloud. As you play episodes, we'll also sync where you're up to so you never have to lose your place again. We also sync any playlists you create on your device, so you'll have access to those everywhere as well.

    If you get a new phone, simply sign back in to syncing, and all your podcasts and episodes will be restored to your device. You can setup syncing on as many Android devices as you own.

    Note: Episodes you've listened to in Pocket Casts before you signed up for syncing won't be synced to other devices.

  3. I can't see the lock screen controls?
    The lock screen controls are only supported from Android 4.0 (ICS). When and if your phone gets an upgrade to that version, you'll get the lock screen :)

    Also on some Samsung phones you need to turn on lock screen security for the controls to show up. You can do this in the phone settings -> "Security and lock screen" -> "Screen lock". Choose a screen lock such as pattern or pin and the controls should then appear.

  4. How do I auto download episodes?
    To set up auto download first create a smart playlist that shows all the episodes you want to have access to. For example if you absolutely love 5 podcasts out of your list of 20, choose those to be in our playlist. Once you're happy that the playlist looks the way you want it to, change the settings and turn on 'Auto Download'. If you want to only ever do this while connected to WIFI, be sure to enable the 'Only on WIFI' option.
  5. How do I create a manual playlist, and sort my episodes?
    Version 4.x has two types of playlists: Smart playlists and Manual playlists.

    You cannot manually sort a Smart playlist (beyond oldest to newest or vice versa), however you cAN manually sort a Manual playlist using long-press-and-drag.

    To create a Manual playlist, identify an individual, podcast episode. Tap on it once. You will be taken to the episode description page; toward the top are four icons: a plus sign, a star, a share icon, and a circle with a checkmark.

    Click on the icon. That will open "Add to playlist..." Since this is your first Manual playlist, type in a name and say ok. You can do the same again to add as many episodes as you like, but you don't have to keep creating playlists, the app will show you the names of the ones you already have.

    Once you've assembled several items in the new Manual playlist, you can open it and use long-press-and-drag to move the podcasts into the order of your choice.

  6. How do I import a podcast by its feed URL?
    Just paste the feed URL into the search box on the Discovery page.

    Alternatively if you find a feed in your browser, tapping it should prompt you to use our app to open it.

  7. Can I add custom files to play in Pocket Casts?
    Our app is designed to subscribe and listen to podcasts. That said if you really want to add your own files and use our player you can!

    In the place where you've told Pocket Casts to store your podcasts, there will be a 'custom_episodes' folder. Copy any audio/video files in here that you wish to play in our app. The next time you open the app and refresh it, you'll find a Custom Episodes image in your podcast list, with all your episodes in it.

    N.B. Pocket Casts will only pick up files in this folder, not any sub-folders you drop in there.

  8. How do I stream episodes?
    Our app is configured out of the box to allow you to download, and also play while downloading podcasts. This is generally far more reliable than streaming especially under poor network conditions. That said if you prefer to stream you can tap on an episode and choose the 'Stream' option. You can also long press on the download button to get the same option.
  9. How do I stop the app from automatically playing the next episode?
    If you don't like the auto play feature, you can turn it off on the now playing page. You only need to do that once, and the app will remember that for you:
  10. How do I import my OPML file into Pocket Casts?
    If you have your OPML file in an email, you can open the attachment straight from your mail client, and you should be prompted to open it in Pocket Casts. If you're using Gmail, you have to save the attachment first, then try to open it.

    If that doesn't work and you know how to copy files to your phone, copy your opml file into the PocketCasts -> opml_import folder. Next open the Pocket Casts settings, go to 'Import & Export' and tap the import button.

  11. How do I integrate Pocket Casts with the Tasker app?

    We are hoping to be added to the 3rd Party section in Tasker but until we do here is the long way.
    When you are adding an action choose "Misc" and next "Send Intent". Below is a list of the names you can type in the "Action" field to interact with Pocket Casts.

    Play the podcast episode that is currently paused in Pocket Casts.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.PLAY

    Pause the podcast episode.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.PAUSE

    Stop playing the podcast episode.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.STOP

    Play the next episode in the playlist.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.NEXT

    Play the previous episode in the playlist.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.PREVIOUS

    Jump forward x number of seconds.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.SKIP_FORWARD

    Jump backward x number of seconds.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.SKIP_BACKWARD

    Refresh podcast episodes and sync updates. This can be handy if you want to setup your auto downloads to trigger at a certain time.
    au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts.action.REFRESH_PODCASTS

  12. How do I recover my sync password?
    In the side menu if you tap “Setup sync...” and choose the option “I already have an account”. In the action bar overflow menu there is the option “Forgot password”. This will allow you to reset your password by email.