With Autoplay enabled, and provided that your Up Next queue is empty, Pocket Casts will automatically start the next episode from the episode list you played from once the current episode finishes. The next episode is the one listed directly below it, in the order the list is sorted (see Which episode does Autoplay play next?). Autoplay is supported on the iOS, Android, web, and desktop apps.
Autoplay was introduced in the following app versions:
- Version 7.43 of the iOS and Android mobile apps
- Version 3.6.8 of the web and desktop apps
The Autoplay feature should not be confused with continuous playback, where episodes on your Up Next queue—otherwise known as the app’s playlist—are played one after the other.
To start using Autoplay, the following must be true:
- Your app version already includes Autoplay. We also advise that you keep the app updated to the latest version available for your device.
- Your Up Next queue is empty.
- Autoplay is enabled from the following places:
- In the mobile apps: Profile > Settings (gear icon) > General
- In the web and desktop apps: Profile (your profile photo) > Settings > Playback
- You’ve started playing an episode from an episode list, which can be one of the following:
- Podcasts > the podcast of your choice
- Playlists > a particular playlist
- Profile > Downloads
- Profile > Starred
You can disable Autoplay from the following places:
- In the mobile apps: Profile > Settings (gear icon) > General
- In the web and desktop apps: Profile (your profile photo) > Settings > Playback
If a podcast episode finishes and another one starts playing automatically for you even with Autoplay turned off, what you are experiencing is unlikely to be an issue with the Autoplay feature. Rather, you are getting continuous playback from the Up Next queue. To confirm, please check if there are episodes in your Up Next queue.
How can I prevent the next episode from automatically starting after I finish playing one episode in Pocket Casts?
There are two ways you can prevent subsequent episodes from automatically starting after you finish playing one episode in Pocket Casts:
- If you have episodes in your Up Next queue – you can use the “Sleep Timer” feature. This will allow you to set the sleep timer to “End of Episode.”
- If your Up Next list is empty – you can disable the “Autoplay” feature from Profile > Settings (gear icon) > General
No. If you have an Up Next queue and you finish playing all the episodes in it, nothing will be autoplayed.
For Autoplay to work, you’ll want to have a completely empty Up Next queue the moment you play any episode from an episode list.
If an episode is finished, but the next episode won’t play automatically, first confirm that Autoplay is turned on. In the mobile apps, go to Profile > Settings (gear icon) > General > Autoplay. In the web and desktop apps, go to Profile (your profile photo) > Settings > Playback > Autoplay. Next, check if the Up Next queue has any episodes available. If you start an episode while Up Next is empty, Autoplay will continue playing episodes from that podcast or list. If none are available no episodes will play.
The Add to Up Next setting on a podcast’s settings page is not Autoplay. It only adds that podcast’s newly released episodes to your Up Next queue. It doesn’t queue episodes that are already out, and it doesn’t turn on Autoplay. When it adds a new episode to Up Next, that episode plays next instead of the one Autoplay would have picked.
Autoplay plays the episode listed directly below the one that just finished, in the order the list is currently sorted. Podcast pages list episodes from newest to oldest unless you change the sort order, so by default Autoplay moves on to an older episode, not the next one in the series.
To listen to a series in order from the first episode, sort the podcast from oldest to newest. In the mobile apps:
- Tap Podcasts and open the podcast.
- Tap the three-dot icon next to the search bar.
- Tap Sort Episodes and choose Oldest to Newest.
Then, with your Up Next queue empty, start the episode you’re up to from the podcast page. When it finishes, Autoplay plays the next episode in the series. For the web and desktop apps and the other sort options, see Sort Your Episodes.
No, this is not possible. If this is something you wish to see, however, do let us know!
Autoplay currently works with the following:
- Apple Watch, but only when using “Phone” as the play source
- CarPlay
- Android Auto
- Android Automotive
- AirPlay
- Chromecast, but only when casting from an Android phone
Autoplay does not yet work with Wear OS.
The Autoplay list is currently not part of Pocket Casts Sync. So, if you start listening to an episode from one device using Autoplay, and then continue listening to the episode on a second device, the second device won’t have information on which episode list the episode was autoplayed from.
No. Pocket Casts doesn’t have a loop or repeat feature that replays a single episode over and over again. The closest options are continuous playback from the Up Next queue and Autoplay — but both of these play different episodes one after another, not the same episode on repeat:
- Up Next (continuous playback) — add the episodes you want to a queue and they’ll play in the order you choose, one after the other.
- Autoplay — when your Up Next queue is empty, Pocket Casts automatically plays the next episode from the list you started playing from.
