Downloaded podcasts aren’t being removed after being played

I have an iPhone 12 running iOS 18.4.1. For about the past month, both podcasts that I receive by automatic download and podcasts I download manually are not being removed after they have been played. In Settings > Apps > Podcasts, I have Remove Played Downloads selected. I had also toggled this several times without solving the problem. On 5/18/25, I deleted the Apple Podcast app, restarted my iPhone, and then downloaded a fresh version of the Apple Podcast app from the App Store. Now it is several days later and podcasts I have listened to over the past few days are still in my Downloaded folder. Please advise what I need to do to get my played podcasts to remove themselves from the Downloaded folder automatically once again. Thank you.

iPhone 12, iOS 18

Posted on May 21, 2025 10:03 PM

Reply
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 24, 2025 2:21 AM

Same, same. This appears to be a widespread bug. I can at least confirm it’s not an issue with your device or settings. We’re in a holding pattern pending an iOS version released with a bug fix.


For me, the bigger issue is that the app doesn’t auto-delete anything. In addition to deleting played episodes, I have limits on the number of episodes per podcast it’s supposed to retain (whether I listen to them or not). As a temporary workaround, I’ve been periodically using the ‘remove all downloads’ option from the downloads filter under the library tab to clear out the backlog. I then manually download episodes as I add them to my queue.


Apple provides an ‘official’ product feedback mechanism. I have no way of ascertaining it’s efficacy - it gives off ‘screaming into the void vibes’, imo. But this will take you to that form: Feedback - Apple Podcasts - Apple


I would assume the ‘Me Too’ button (here within the forum) was probably also intended as a feedback mechanism. In theory this would actually be a more efficient approach. Fwiw, of the many posts reporting this issue, this seems to be the one that’s attracted the most engagement: Podcasts won’t delete automatically after… - Apple Community. Feel free to join in.


I can’t attest to whether Apple makes use of either feature, since both feedback mechanisms are in my experience likely to be a one-way street (don’t expect Apple to respond). And I’ve never personally seen anyone commenting otherwise.


Cheers.

Similar questions

3 replies
Sort By: 
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

May 24, 2025 2:21 AM in response to lukairure46

Same, same. This appears to be a widespread bug. I can at least confirm it’s not an issue with your device or settings. We’re in a holding pattern pending an iOS version released with a bug fix.


For me, the bigger issue is that the app doesn’t auto-delete anything. In addition to deleting played episodes, I have limits on the number of episodes per podcast it’s supposed to retain (whether I listen to them or not). As a temporary workaround, I’ve been periodically using the ‘remove all downloads’ option from the downloads filter under the library tab to clear out the backlog. I then manually download episodes as I add them to my queue.


Apple provides an ‘official’ product feedback mechanism. I have no way of ascertaining it’s efficacy - it gives off ‘screaming into the void vibes’, imo. But this will take you to that form: Feedback - Apple Podcasts - Apple


I would assume the ‘Me Too’ button (here within the forum) was probably also intended as a feedback mechanism. In theory this would actually be a more efficient approach. Fwiw, of the many posts reporting this issue, this seems to be the one that’s attracted the most engagement: Podcasts won’t delete automatically after… - Apple Community. Feel free to join in.


I can’t attest to whether Apple makes use of either feature, since both feedback mechanisms are in my experience likely to be a one-way street (don’t expect Apple to respond). And I’ve never personally seen anyone commenting otherwise.


Cheers.

Reply

May 24, 2025 1:55 AM in response to DocSarvis

Same, same. This appears to be a widespread bug.


Apple provides an ‘official’ product feedback mechanism. I have no way of ascertaining it’s efficacy - it gives off ‘screaming into the void vibes’, imo. But this will take you to that form: Feedback - Apple Podcasts - Apple


I would assume the ‘Me Too’ button (here within the forum) was probably also intended as a feedback mechanism. In theory this would actually be a more efficient approach. Fwiw, of the many posts reporting this issue, this seems to be the one that’s attracted the most engagement: Podcasts won’t delete automatically after… - Apple Community. Feel free to join in.


I can’t attest to whether Apple makes use of either feature, since both feedback mechanisms are in my experience likely to be a one-way street (don’t expect Apple to respond). And I’ve never personally seen anyone commenting otherwise.


All that said, I can at least confirm it’s not an issue with your device or settings. We’re in a holding pattern pending an iOS version released with a bug fix.


Cheers.

Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Downloaded podcasts aren’t being removed after being played

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.