• By Vikas Yadav
  • Sun, 31 Mar 2024 12:04 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Google Podcasts, the tech giant's app with over 500 million downloads, is all set for discontinuation in the US. The company is reportedly sending notifications to users in the app to migrate their data to YouTube Music or alternative platforms. The six-year-old app offers a wide range of features, such as subscribing to channels and downloading and playing podcasts across devices.

The company announced the move in September 2023 and stated that Google Podcasts will be discontinued this year. As per data cited in YouTube's blog, only four per cent of weekly podcast users in the US engage with the app. The podcast service will migrate to YouTube Music. According to BleepingComputer, only users in the US are receiving the data migration in-app notification.

Also Read: Google Podcasts Shutting Down Next Year: Search Giant To Kill Podcasting App In April 2024; Migration Tool Announced

"After April 2, 2024, you will no longer be able to listen to podcasts in Google Podcasts. Transfer your subscriptions to YouTube Music or export them for the service of your choice," the prompt read. On December 19, the company shared the steps to transfer data to YouTube Music or any other app.

Screengrab of Google Podcasts' discontinuation message. (Image:X)

How To Move Subscriptions From Google Podcasts?

Step 1: Open Google Podcasts

Step 2: Choose the 'Export subscriptions' from the top

Step 3: Choose 'Export' in the 'Export to YouTube Music' option

Step 4: Select the 'Transfer' option on YouTube Music

Step 5: Press 'Continue' and select 'Go to Library' to view subscriptions after completion

Also Read: Google Podcasts To Shut Down By 2024, Users Will Be Shifted To YouTube Music; Here's What Will Change

While the process may take a few minutes to migrate data, some unavailable podcasts may display a 'Content is unavailable' message. In this case, you can save the podcast to your library using the RSS feed link. Meanwhile, users can move the subscription to another app using the Outline Processor Markup Language (OPML) file or Google Takeout. According to Google, listeners in the US "will be able to migrate their subscriptions through July 2024".