Review Insights · Google Play
Podcast Player - Castbox
Castbox.FM - Radio & Podcast & AudioBooks · 366,836 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
366,836 ratings
🎯 Build a better version
Top complaints - extracted from 31 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"podcast"
10 negative reviews mention this · 32% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
2
"download"
6 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
3
"full"
5 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
4
"sometimes"
5 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "S23 user, since last update...very glitcky! To be clear this started last week and its with both Bluetooth and phone speakers. Sometimes the app skips and Sometimes it shuts down or restart." - Nathan Showers
5
"become"
4 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
6
"screen"
4 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
7
"user"
4 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a…" - Jackie Olcott
8
"listen"
4 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Had to give castbox another shot, it's somehow gotten even worse: instead of subscribing you to a bunch of garbage by default, it tried to sneakily download like 30-40 pod episodes; and later I got a notification telling me to listen to som…" - a lex
9
"podcasts"
4 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app is NOT the best! Keeps asking me to REVIEW WHEN I DID ALREADY! Still asking to review! And now the ads wont even let you listen to any podcasts!!! just insist you download whatever app they are advertising!!!" - LeeyLeey F
📋 All 31 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
This app is a masterclass in bad user experience design. Its true purpose is to anger the user and to disappoint.
Had to give castbox another shot, it's somehow gotten even worse: instead of subscribing you to a bunch of garbage by default, it tried to sneakily download like 30-40 pod episodes; and later I got a notification telling me to listen to something, which played for a moment, meaning it wasted my traffic again. Insane behavior, unless literally everything else is banned in your country, there's no reason to use this (and it's not even the best of the two castbox apps).
عالی.........................................
Uninstalled today because of unskipable ads before you can even choose a podcast to listen to.
EDIT: Nothing with you needing ad space. You've had ads for years. I've had your app since 2016 and only recently has it become unusable. YOU CAN'T HAVE ADS THAT STOP PLAYING THE PODCAST IN THE APP SO IT CAN PLAY AN AD AT FULL VOLUME. Better off paying for Spotify! This app used to be great but the amount of ads make it unusable. I'll be playing a podcast and going to search through what I'm going to listen to next, and an ad will open up and stop my podcast?? What a god awful user experience.
the ads were reasonable and not intrusive before. Now any time you hit any button or go to any screen you get a full video ad. Very disappointed
paid for premium but still being asked to get premium. Will someone please activate my premium
great app but the ads are crazy. cop ads at the start ant end of pods then the pop ups when you open channels? there are other apps that do the same thing with less ads. also ads skip back so often. they want you to pay for this? I just kept using because all my channels are there. I cant anymore.
Good lord, the ads on this thing are impossible to deal with. Sometimes I have to sit through a 30 second add just to pause, stop, or change what you're listening too. It used to not be this way and now I'm too far in to switch to a other app. Don't be like me, download something different.
This app is NOT the best! Keeps asking me to REVIEW WHEN I DID ALREADY! Still asking to review! And now the ads wont even let you listen to any podcasts!!! just insist you download whatever app they are advertising!!!
6-13-2026. this player plays adds covers up the soft buttons at the bottom of the phone. making the only way to exit is to reset the phn useing power button. the add stays on indefinitely otherwise. 3-7-26a. Adds prevent use of podcast player. I recommend finding new podcast player! Rev: 3-21-24a. App doesn't follow phones dark mode state automatically, unless you go into settings and find the hidden option, otherwise emitts bright white light. It flashes bright white light during app start.
This app really sucks I tried going back to this app again. Ads are incredibly annoying, just use spotify premium
not free
dominates all my other apps and doesnt pick up where left off. if im watching YouTube, pause and then unpause with my headphones, castbox opens and continues my last podcast. then sometimes, the podcast stops and opens another one im not even listening to.
If you want people to pay, you have to offer them something new. Never ask for money for the functionality you already had. Shame, time to find a new app.
it's been miserable as you guys back up Pride community 😔
Update: ads on this app are terrible now. Up to 3 minutes and you can't do anything. Do not download in the current state. Getting really annoyed with episodes I've already marked as played getting redownloaded by the app. Going to start looking for alternative apps. No point in a podcast app if it can't keep track of what you've already listened to.
this app is ads with a podcast player added to them.
I used to really like this app, but there are multiple problems with it now. You will still have ads shoved into the podcasts even if you PAY for no ads.
The ads slowly increased over the 10ish years I've used this app. I understand the need for ads to keep a free app funded, however, they've become far too intrusive. I'm getting 2 ads simply opening a podcast, with two X clicks each (4 total) when I'm just trying to browse. Now, I get ads with a fake X that forces me to open the Google Play store then exit out to close the ad. I can't be bothered to do all this to put on a podcast quickly for my daily commute. Time for a new podcast app.
starts playing podcasts on its own. cannot control it.
Invasive ads that auto install apps
This used to be the perfect app for my podcast needs. But lately it has become unbearable with ads. Full screen ads that come up while navigating, and are near impossible to close- long waits for the X to appear only for it to take you to a download screen for what is advertised, So I have to force close the app, and then it will happen again. I realize ads are necessary for a free app, but the user experience could be a lot better.
S23 user, since last update...very glitcky! To be clear this started last week and its with both Bluetooth and phone speakers. Sometimes the app skips and Sometimes it shuts down or restart.
A once great app crippled by ads. When will Devs learn that annoying timed full screen ads do little to endear you to whatever they're advertising.
Probably going to switch apps because the ads have become absolutely out of control. Every time I switch screens I'm hit with 2-3 ads that you can't close out of right away. Since I primarily use this while driving, it's too distracting and hard to use.
random ads pop up throughout episodes. used to love this app
castbox has gotten way too greedy with their ads. open the app, you get a full screen add. open a series, more full screen adds. Click the "x" to close out an add after the add has completed and it takes you to the app store to download whatever app their selling you anyway. you close the app and try again but you gotta sit through a bunch of ads again. between opening the app and finally hitting play on a podcast....so many adds.
Too many ads, which are sometimes difficult to remove or skip, are becoming more annoying than useful.
i have been using this app for a long time, but recently it has massive ads that makes me have to look for an alternative
I loved how I could sort podcasts, create a shortcut to my favorite podcast, and didn't have to add stuff to a cue. However, it was glitchy and sometimes the podcast would repeat a chunk and then a chunk of recording would be missing. Sometimes it also would tell me there was an issue playing anything and I'd have to close out the app and reopen it, which doesn't work when driving, which is where I do most of my listening. If it weren't for the bugs I'd 10/10 recommend.
Sentiment summary
92%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
6%
Negative (1-2★)