Tech giants love a bit of consolidation - as shown by Google this week.
It's been months since it announced that during the course of 2024, it would be shuttering the Google Podcasts app, and folding its features into YouTube music.
In the US, the process has already happened - Google Podcasts no longer works on Android, iOS or the web.
If you're outside the US, though, there was no actual timeline attached to this beyond that, but an updated support article has provided answers.
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It clarifies: "Users outside of the United States will be able to use Google Podcasts until mid-to-late June 2024. All users globally can migrate or export their Google Podcasts subscriptions until 29 July 2024."
So, if you're a big Google Podcasts user, you can start the countdown - sometime in June, the service will be shutting down for good.
When it announced the change back in September 2023, Google said that more people already reported using YouTube as their podcast destination than Google Podcasts, but there are still plenty of users who are upset about the change.
For one thing, it's not immediately obvious from the name 'YouTube Music' that podcasting will fit into the equation, unlike a built-in app that literally has 'Podcasts' in the name.
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Plus, as pointed out by observers, the YouTube Music app is missing some basic podcasting features.
There's currently no way to get notified when a podcast you follow adds a new episode, for example, and you also cannot mark episodes you've listened to as played.
These are features that have been built into podcasting apps for years, so it's understandable that people are frustrated about being made to change things.
Social media is full of posts, with some people suggesting they've jumped ship to rival services.
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One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Well done @Google for helping me realize I no longer need to use 2 apps for podcasts. I've now exported all of my subscriptions over to @Spotify and will not be using the absolutely terrible @youtubemusic. What a disastrous business decision to close #GooglePodcasts."
The fact that Spotify lets you import your subscriptions over does indeed make for a competitive field for YouTube Music, too.
Other users, though, aren't so much bringing practical objections as they are just mourning the loss of the app, like one who wrote: "I act like everything is OK but deep down I really miss the Google Podcasts app."
So, if you're outside the US and you're a Google Podcasts user, make the most of it while you can - you only have a matter of weeks left to enjoy it.
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