“This used to be good but it has been inshitified. i generously gave it 2 stars for formerly being good. Everytime you open it or change the podcasy, a big popup ad takes over the screen and it's impossible to clear it. If you're not…”
Independent automated assessment · 6 signal sources · 456 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
Podcast Player
Castbox.FM - Radio & Podcast & AudioBooksThe most excellent podcast player app for you to search, subscribe to, stream…
4.8 ★316,035 ratings
10M+Downloads
12+Age rating
—App size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
The most excellent podcast player app for you to search, subscribe to, stream, play and download all of your favorite podcasts and audiobooks, etc.
You can quickly transfer subscriptions from other podcast apps to our app by using OPML Import feature.
★ 🇺🇸 135 countries Editors' Choice featured by Google Play ★ ★ 👍 Top Trending Apps of Global Best by Google Play ★ ★ 📺 Most Entertaining of Best Apps by Google Play ★
We got everything you want (audio books FM music streaming radio podcasts) for free. Podcast is with you by providing audio content covering both entertainment and education during daily playback scenarios (commute, sport, chores, relax, etc.)
Listen to the best podcasts on Podcast Player, including News & Politics podcasts, Music-related podcasts, Games & Hobbies podcasts, Sports podcasts, Technology podcasts, and Talk Shows, etc.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
The evidence behind this assessment
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
This analysis describes version 9.17.0-260909124 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 9.17.0-260909124, updated 2026-09-12.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to at least 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Does not say how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
1 theme reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
90% or more five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
From the package we downloaded and read — version 9.17.0-260909124, scanned 2026-09-27.
Permissions Android classifies as dangerous
1–2 requested
Counted against the eighteen permissions listed in collect-package.ts. A dangerous permission is one Android asks the user to grant; requesting one is not itself a finding.
Analytics or tracking SDKs in the scanned package
1–2 found
Advertising SDKs in the scanned package
10 or more found
Counted as distinct SDKs in the package we scanned. One mediation bundle can contribute several, so this is not a count of advertisers.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
The catch list 1
Charges we publish at a strength we stand behind: measured from an artefact, agreed by independent sources, or reported by enough users to clear that charge's own published bar.
Multiple ad networks bundled
The package embeds several distinct advertising or mediation SDKs — a stack built for ad volume, not for a single house ad.
What we saw: Bundles 10 distinct ad networks / mediation SDKs: Amazon Publisher Services, AppLovin MAX, BidMachine, Fyber / Digital Turbine Exchange and 6 more
Positive evidence 1
Things this app does right, published at the same strengths as the catch list.
Developer says data deletion can be requested
The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.
What we saw: The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text
One source only — shown, not confirmed 1
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Aggressive ad load
Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.
What we saw: Aggressive ad load: raised by 32 distinct reviewers (7.0% of 456 reviews scanned)
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“They added too many ads. Ads when you pause your podcast - and they make sound - is too much. I understand the need for ads, but that is so annoying. update, I went to the app to pause my podcast, however an ad popped up with music and an…”
“this started out as a great app, however the queue no longer will continue to play at the end of a podcast and the ads are so ridiculous that the pods will not play over them and you can't close them. I have adjusted my settings so many…”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 9.17.0-260909124.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown0
Lowest—
Highest—
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.