After this date, those who choose not to migrate right away will no longer be able to stream straight from the Podcasts app. However, they will still have more time to migrate.

For more than five years, the Google Podcasts app—which has been downloaded over 500 million times on Android devices worldwide—offers a straightforward and efficient interface for finding, subscribing to, and enjoying podcasts, along with the ability to add podcasts via RSS feed. Regretfully, for those who enjoy using the app, the internet giant said in September of last year that, as part of a larger strategy to consolidate its audio services under YouTube, it will start to phase down the Podcasts app in early 2024.

A similar transition plan was provided by YouTube Music in 2020 in an effort to divert users from Google Play Music before it shut down that same year. However, because YouTube Music wasn't prepared to accept podcasts until recently, the Google Podcasts app was kept up to date for years. Podcasts will be supported internationally by YouTube Music by the end of 2023, and by February, users will be able to post their RSS feeds.

By merging its efforts and narrowing its emphasis, the decision to migrate podcasting to YouTube may help Google gain a greater presence in the market. Additionally, interest in video podcasts, which were previously well-liked on YouTube, is growing. For instance, Spotify said earlier in March that it was testing video podcasts in 11 different international areas. This week, the two companies reached an agreement to provide video podcasts to Spotify's streaming app customers in the United States.

The U.S. Google Podcasts shutdown date was initially discovered by Bleeping Computer, and a support page on Google's website confirms that users in the country can only use the Podcasts app until the end of March 2024. Google will give consumers more time to keep their subscriptions by letting them utilize the app's export feature until July 2024, in case they miss the in-app pop-ups.

After publication, Google responded to a request for comment that it was still "tracking towards" the April 2 deadline for the United States but that it had not yet released a timeline for the rest of the globe.

However, based on its previous remarks, the intention is to shut down Google Podcasts worldwide in 2024.