Spotify’s podcast settings hide a few options that can improve the way you listen. With switches to save data, automatically download episodes, and more, they help give Spotify some of the strengths of a traditional podcast app.
Set video podcasts to audio only
One of the best reasons to use Spotify for podcasts is that it seamlessly integrates video podcasts. This contrasts with dedicated apps that so often require you to go to YouTube when you want to watch an episode. But if you only want the audio stream and want to save some data in the process, you can use Spotify in audio-only mode.
Tap your account icon in the top left corner of the app, then go to Settings & Privacy > Data backup & offline and enable “Audio downloads only for video podcasts” and “Audio streaming only for video podcasts.”
Enable automatic downloads
Although Spotify is a streaming app, you don’t have to stream podcasts. Just like a regular podcast app, you can set it to automatically download new episodes of shows you subscribe to. This means they will wait for you whenever you want to listen, even if you don’t have a data connection.
To do this via podcast, open a podcast you’re subscribed to, tap the settings cog, and turn on the “Auto-download episodes” option.
You can also tap “Manage download settings” in the same section, then enable downloads for some or all of your shows. The “Limit automatic downloads” option also allows you to choose the number of downloads.
Download via Wi-Fi only
If you’ve chosen to enable automatic downloads and have a limited mobile data plan, the option to limit downloads to Wi-Fi only will keep you from eating up your data allowance too quickly.
In Settings, go to “Data Backup & Offline” and turn off “Downloads via Cellular”.
Change download quality
Another data-saving tip is to change the download quality of your audio podcasts. The benefits here are pretty minimal, since the podcast bitrate on Spotify is only 96 kbps in Normal mode, so it doesn’t consume a huge amount of data anyway. But you can still go to the “Audio Quality” or “Multimedia Quality” settings and change them to “Low”. This reduces the bitrate to 24 kbps.
Note, however, that this is a universal setting. You can’t choose a quality level just for podcasts, and changing it will also affect the quality of your music.
Disable autoplay
Spotify is set by default to continue playing, even when your chosen content is finished. We see this most often with music, where the app continues to offer similar tracks after you reach the end of your playlist.
It also does the same thing with podcasts, where it will automatically play the next episode of your chosen show until you stop it. This is obviously less useful than with music, especially if you listen to podcasts as you fall asleep, but you can turn it off by turning off the “Autoplay” option in the playback settings.
Adjust playback speed
One of the main things that many people believe to listen to podcasts is the ability to adjust the playback speed. This is especially useful for podcasts that broadcast episodes that are several hours long and makes them much more accessible. Spotify supports this. Start playing an episode, then press the “1x” button on the Now Playing screen and select the speed you want.
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of changing the playback speed of podcasts, although some people shamelessly listen at speeds up to 1.5x.
Manage notifications
If you subscribe to a lot of podcasts, it can become unbearable to be bombarded with notifications every time new episodes are released. And if you have automatic downloads set up, you don’t need to know that anyway. The episodes should be ready for you whenever you need them.
Fortunately, they are easy to disable. Go to the Notifications section of Settings, select “New Podcast Episodes” and turn off notifications for each of your subscribed Pods. You can also go to “Podcasts & Shows” and turn off in-app and email recommendations as well.
Clear cache
Finally, whether you download podcasts or stream them, they can eat up a lot of your device’s storage space. It’s a good idea to clear the cache and storage every now and then to make them much more manageable.
In Settings, select “Data backup & offline” and scroll down to the Storage section. Tap “Delete” to delete all your downloads and “Clear” to clear the cache. Keep in mind that these settings will also delete music you have stored and may cause higher data usage for a while as the cache rebuilds.
With these tips, Spotify becomes an even better podcast player. However, it doesn’t have some of the more advanced features you can find in dedicated apps. I’ve been testing other podcast apps recently and have chosen Pocket Casts as my current favorite.
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Spotify is a pioneer in music streaming. It offers an extensive library, impressive bitrate, curated and personalized playlists, and offline streaming. Spotify is available for free and for a monthly or annual fee.
