Web and Desktop Apps

If you work on a laptop, tablet, or desktop, you might prefer a bigger screen experience. In that case, our web player, Mac, and Windows desktop apps are perfect for you.

Access to the web and desktop app are available for all Pocket Casts users, although some features may require a Plus or Patron subscription.

On macOS, you can control playback directly from the Pocket Casts icon in the Dock (also called the dock menu or dock right-click menu) without bringing the app window to the foreground.

To access these controls, right-click (or Control-click) the Pocket Casts icon in the Dock. While an episode is loaded, the menu includes:

• Skip Back
• Play / Pause
• Skip Forward

Choose an option to act on the currently loaded episode. This is useful when you’re working in another app and want quick access to playback (pause, resume, skip back, or skip forward) without switching to Pocket Casts.

Dock playback controls are available on macOS only — they were reintroduced in Pocket Casts 2.4.0 for macOS. For another quick-access option on both Windows and macOS, see the Miniplayer pop-out window.

The web and desktop apps are available for all Pocket Casts users, including those on a free plan. However, access to some features, such as Folders, Bookmarks, and cloud storage require a Plus or Patron account.

We don’t currently offer an option to customize the desktop app icon.

Smart Playlists are not yet available on the web and desktop apps. The “New Releases,” “In Progress,” and “Starred” tabs on the web and desktop apps should not be confused with any similarly named Smart Playlists you might have on your Android/iOS mobile app since they work differently. For example, “New Releases” on the web and desktop apps will only show episodes that are unfinished from the last two weeks.

The “New Releases,” “In Progress,” and “Starred” screens on the web and desktop apps work differently from any similarly named Smart Playlists you might have in the Android/iOS apps, so it is expected that they will not sync. For example, “New Releases” on the web and desktop apps will only show episodes that are unfinished from the last two weeks.

The Mac app and the self-installed Windows app will automatically check for updates and ask to install a new version when one is available. You can also manually check for updates under the Pocket Casts menu — this menu can be revealed in the Windows app by pressing the alt key on your keyboard.

If you are using the Microsoft Store version of Pocket Casts for Windows, that version of the app is temporarily unavailable. We recommend downloading the app from our Downloads page directly to ensure you have the latest version.

Please see this guide for troubleshooting steps for the Windows and macOS desktop apps.

If you are being signed out of the web player or desktop app repeatedly, the most common cause is a VPN, firewall, or other security or privacy software on your device interfering with the app’s connection to our servers. When one of the app’s requests is blocked, it can be treated as an invalid sign-in and log you out, even when the rest of your internet is working.

Some of this software (for example, Private Internet Access) can keep filtering an app’s traffic even when the VPN is shown as disconnected or turned off, so the sign-outs can continue even when you believe it is inactive.

To narrow this down:

1. Add Pocket Casts (or play.pocketcasts.com) to your security software’s allow list. This is sometimes called an exception, whitelist, or split tunnel. See How to check my network connection for more on whitelisting.
2. Open play.pocketcasts.com in your browser and use it for a while. If the browser stays signed in while the desktop app does not, that points to software on your device rather than your account.
3. If you can, try a different Wi-Fi network or internet connection to see whether the sign-outs stop.
4. Temporarily turn off or uninstall the software. If the sign-outs stop while it is fully removed, that confirms it is the cause. You can then add Pocket Casts to its allow list and turn it back on.

If you are still being signed out, contact our support team and include your debug logs (Profile > Settings > Help > Send Feedback, with Include debug logs enabled) so we can take a closer look.

You can check by following these steps:

1. Open the Pocket Casts app.
2. Click the Profile icon.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click Help.
5. Click Send Feedback.
6. Enable Include debug logs.
7. Look at the User Agent field. If it includes PocketCasts/ followed by a version number and Electron/ followed by a version number (e.g. PocketCasts/2.0.1 ... Electron/28.x.x), you have the Electron desktop app. If there is no Electron/ entry, you have the legacy Windows app.