Google Kills Another App, And No, It's Not An April Fool's Joke: Here's How You Can Save Your Podcast Subscriptions

It's not an April Fool's joke – another Google app, Podcasts, is shutting down on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google has also placed a notice on the Podcasts website, urging users to migrate to YouTube Music for their podcast needs.

What Happened: The decision to shut down the Google Podcasts app was first revealed in September 2023. Despite its popularity, the app will be discontinued, marking another addition to Google’s list of discontinued projects.

Users are being advised to transition to YouTube Music, which Google claims will offer a “better overall destination” for both listeners and creators. The platform will introduce features focused on community, discovery, and the seamless transition between audio and video content.

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Google has provided a guide for users to transfer their subscriptions from Google Podcasts to YouTube Music. The process involves exporting subscriptions from the Podcasts app and importing them to YouTube Music. Users have until July 2024 to complete this migration.

How To Migrate Subscriptions From Google Podcasts

Users can now migrate their Google Podcasts subscriptions to YouTube Music or other podcast apps. Here's how it works:

• Open the Google Podcasts app.
• Tap the “Export subscriptions” button on the top of the app's homepage.
• You will now get two options – you can export either to YouTube Music or other apps.
• Choosing YouTube Music will open the app, where you can seamlessly import and start listening to your podcasts again.
• If you choose other apps, Google Podcasts will export your subscriptions as an "OPML" file, which you can then import into other podcast apps.

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Why It Matters: The decision to discontinue Google Podcasts in favor of YouTube Music was announced in September 2023.

This move was seen as a strategic shift by Google to consolidate its audio offerings under the YouTube brand.

Despite its popularity, Google Podcasts is not the first service to be discontinued by Google.

In 2018, the company migrated its Play Music service to YouTube, a move that was met with a similar mix of reactions.

Google’s decision to discontinue the Google Podcasts app follows its recent announcement to shut down its experimental social media platform, Keen.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash