ANDROID users have been left completely fuming after plans were announced to shut down the free Google app within days.
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The search giant is shutting down its Podcasts app and has already started warning users to switch their subscriptions to YouTube Music by April 2.
Those who do not move immediately after that date will no longer be able to stream from the Podcasts app.
However, there will be additional time to move subscriptions elsewhere, Techcrunch reports.
The Google Podcasts app has been installed over 500 million times on Android devices worldwide.
A favorite for more than half a decade, the app offers a simple and modern interface to discover, follow and listen to podcasts, as well as tools to add podcasts via RSS feed.
Google’s decision to shut down the app comes as part of a broader plan to centralize audio services under YouTube.
The change will happen next week, and Google has confirmed that it’s still “getting closer” to the April 2 timeline for the US.
Although the timeline has not yet been announced for the rest of the world, the company reportedly plans to phase out Google Podcasts globally in 2024.
A support page on Google’s site confirms that US users will only be able to use the Podcasts app until the end of March 2024.
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For users missing in-app pop-ups, Google will offer extra time to save their subscriptions by allowing them to use the app’s export feature until July 2024.
Users of the app were devastated by the news and expressed their thoughts on the decision to switch to YouTube Music.
One person said: “Very stupid move. YouTube music is not good so I just chose another Android app.”
Another person commented: “This is their bad business again. People don’t even use music from YouTube, they use Apple and Spotify.”
It comes after viewers who were late to the BritBox game – or simply want to see it before it disappears – were told they could no longer subscribe to the standalone service.
It was launched in 2019 by ITV and BBC Studios and will close at the end of April.
In October, the Money Dashboard Neon and Classic budgeting app was abruptly shut down despite fans using it “religiously.”
In an email sent to users, the company said it was “unable to find a viable business model for the apps” and was therefore “unable to continue supporting the services”.