"Pocket Casts is being flogged for showing advertisements to legacy users who were promised an ad-free experience. The first reports started to appear in early September in the Pocket Casts support forum and subreddit. The issue is a bug, according to Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Pocket Casts' parent company Automattic, and will be corrected. Pocket Casts launched as a purchase-only app in 2010, charging users a one-time download fee of up to $10, depending on the OS and platform."
"The service later switched to a subscription-based model and made the app available for free in 2019. After backlash from users, the company gave anyone who paid for the web or desktop apps before the pricing changes free lifetime access to Pocket Casts Plus, its ad-free premium subscription service. The app was acquired by Automattic in 2021, and the Pocket Casts Lifetime memberships were rebranded to "Pocket Casts Champion" in August 2024."
Legacy lifetime members of Pocket Casts who were promised an ad-free experience have been shown advertisements and prompted to pay a yearly fee. Reports of the issue began appearing in early September on the Pocket Casts support forum and subreddit. Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg identified the problem as a bug and stated it will be corrected. Pocket Casts originally launched as a paid app in 2010, later moved to a subscription model and offered lifetime ad-free access to early purchasers. Automattic acquired the app in 2021 and rebranded lifetime memberships in August 2024.
Read at The Verge
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