How to Delete Downloaded Podcasts

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Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: December 16, 2023

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• Google Podcasts
|
• Apple Podcasts
|
• Spotify

|Show more |Show less

Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts lets you delete all downloaded episodes and certain episodes. However, Spotify only lets you delete individual episodes at a time. Here's how to delete downloaded podcasts on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Google Podcasts

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1. 1
   Open Google Podcasts on your phone or tablet. It's the icon with blue, orange, yellow, and green lines on your Android, iPhone, or iPad's screen.
2. 2
   Tap the Library tab. It's the icon of three horizontal lines with a small triangle at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
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3. 3
   Tap the Downloads tab. It's the second tab at the top of the screen. This displays all downloaded podcast episodes.
4. 4
   Delete an individual episode. If you just want to delete one episode, swipe left on the episode title and select Remove Download. If you'd rather delete all downloaded podcasts (or all podcasts you've already listened to), go to the next step.
5. 5
   Tap the three-dot menu. It's the three vertical dots (Android) or horizontal dots (iPhone/iPad) at the top-right corner. A menu will expand.
6. 6
   Tap the Remove option that works best for you. To delete all downloaded episodes on your phone or tablet, tap Remove all downloads. Alternatively, select Remove played or Remove 7+ days old if you'd rather keep some episodes.
7. 7
   Disable automatic podcast downloads (optional). If you enabled automatic downloads for one or more podcasts and want to turn that feature off, it's easy to disable these downloads:

   • Tap the three dots at the top-right corner of the Activity screen.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Tap Auto-download.
   • To disable all automatic downloads, tap the "auto-download new episodes" switch to turn it off.
   • To just stop automatic downloads for certain podcasts, tap the podcast's corresponding switch to flip it to the Off position.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Apple Podcasts

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1. 1
   Open the Apple Podcasts app. It's the purple icon with an outline of a person surrounded by two rounded lines.
2. 2
   Tap the Library tab. It's the square icon at the bottom of the screen.
3. 3
   Tap the Downloaded folder. It's the third icon. This displays a list of all podcasts that you've downloaded.

   • Following a podcast in Apple Podcasts tells the app to automatically download new episodes of the show. If you unfollow the podcast, any episodes you've already downloaded will remain on your iPhone or iPad until you delete them.
   • You can turn off automatic downloads—read on to learn how.
4. 4
   Delete all downloaded podcast episodes at once. If you want to delete all of the downloaded episodes for a particular podcast, it's easy:

   • Tap-and-hold the podcast's name.
   • Tap Remove Downloads on the menu.
   • Tap Remove Downloads to confirm.
5. 5
   Delete an individual podcast episode. If you'd rather delete an individual episode of a podcast:

   • Tap the name of the podcast.
   • Tap and hold the episode you want to delete.
   • Tap Remove Download.
6. 6
   Disable automatic downloads for a podcast. When you follow a podcast, Apple Podcasts will download new episodes automatically. You can disable automatic downloading of episodes in your settings for that podcast. Here's how:

   • Tap the name of your podcast in the library.
   • Tap the three horizontal dots at the top-right corner.
   • Tap Settings.
   • Tap the "Automatic Downloads" switch to turn it off.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Spotify

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1. 1
   Open Spotify on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. It's the icon of a green circle containing three black curved lines.

   • Spotify doesn't have a tool for deleting all downloaded podcasts at once. You'll need to delete your downloaded podcast episodes separately. Fortunately, the process is quick because you can access all downloaded episodes in one place.
2. 2
   Tap Your Library. You'll see this tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. 3
   Tap the Downloaded tab. It's the last of the tabs that run along the top of the screen. This shows you everything that's downloaded to your phone or tablet, including podcasts.

   • You may have to swipe left across the tabs (Playlists, Artists, etc.) to see this tab.
4. 4
   Tap Saved Episodes. It's the green icon with Spotify's round podcast logo. You may have to scroll down past other downloaded media to see it.
5. 5
   Tap the green-and-black arrow on the episode you want to delete. You'll be asked to confirm that you want to remove that episode from your downloads.
6. 6
   Tap Remove to confirm. This deletes the downloaded podcast episode from your phone or tablet.
7. 7
   Repeat for all other episodes you want to delete. You'll have to delete each podcast episode separately.
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