Podcast streaming apps are convenient. They enable users to subscribe to their favorite podcasts to easily manage their listening habits. Users are notified when new episodes are released, the apps employ algorithms to help you discover new pods that you might be interested in, and often feature a number of playback options. Despite all of these advantages, I still prefer to download podcast episodes as MP3s.
Avoid Privacy Concerns
Most podcast apps are completely free to use. Some do require in-app purchases to unlock specific features, but base functionality, like managing and listening to podcasts, does not incur a charge. While this all sounds appealing, it’s important to note that nothing is ever truly free. Developers do not sink time and money into a podcast app without expecting a return on investment.
Some of the ways they turn a profit are fairly transparent, like including ads in the apps’ interfaces. Others are far sneakier. Virtually every podcast app requires users to sign up for an account, forcing them to relinquish sensitive personal data.
We’re not insinuating that every podcast streaming app is harvesting and selling your data. However, we are encouraging you to read the end user agreements very carefully before installing, as this is a pretty common practice.
If sifting through legal jargon isn’t your cup of tea, you can avoid shady business practices and protect your privacy by simply ditching the podcast apps and manually downloading your episodes.
Tip: If you’re really concerned with prying eyes on the Internet, make sure you turn your VPN on before you download anything.
Listen Offline from Anywhere
Downloading episodes allows you to listen without an Internet connection. Many podcasts even have their own websites that allow you to download episodes for free in MP3 format. This is simply not an option with streaming. One of my personal favorites with its own website is The Flop House, with every episode available as an MP3 download.
If your favorite podcasts do not have their own website or host MP3s of their episodes, you can source them from Podbay.fm, a browser-based podcast streaming platform. It is home to virtually every podcast in existence and has extensive archives of past episodes.
Users can create Podbay accounts that grant additional functionality, such as resuming episodes that are in-progress. While these additional features are nice, if you’re trying to avoid yet another account in your name, don’t bother creating one, as an account is not necessary to download MP3s.
Use Your Preferred Media Player
All of the podcast streaming apps feature integrated players so that users can listen without leaving the app. In some cases, the built-in players leave much to be desired. In other cases, the integrated players are quite powerful, boasting features like adjusting playback speed, sleep timers and more. Unfortunately, many free podcast streaming apps block these features, requiring users to open their wallets for in-app purchases to restore them.
By downloading episodes as MP3s, you can play them with your choice of player, and that’s usually one with many features, to tailor your listening experience. As an Android user, my hands down favorite music player app is Musicolet. It looks good, has a ton of advanced features, and best of all, it’s free. In addition to storing episodes on your phone, you can make a copy of the MP3 and store it on your personal server. Queue up an episode on any device via a media player.
Never Lose Access to Favorite Episodes
Streaming has dominated the way we consume media. Many people have gladly said good riddance to physical media, like Blu-rays and CDs. However, folks are slowly coming to the realization that subscribing to a streaming service doesn’t mean that they own all of the available media. Licensing agreements can expire, and rights disputes and legal issues can result in content being pulled at any time. In fact, it’s a big reason physical media, like compact discs, is experiencing a bit of a resurgence.
While movies, TV shows and music are often the targets of legal action, podcasts are not immune. Therefore, downloading each episode means that you will forever have access to that content. In the age of streaming, content, including podcasts, could disappear at the drop of a hat. But streaming allows you to revisit any episode of favorite podcasts whenever you want – no special app or subscription is necessary.
I fully admit that downloading individual episodes of podcasts is a bit of a pain, and dedicated podcast streaming apps make listening to podcasts much easier. However, if you’re the least bit concerned with your personal data and want more control over the way you consume media, the extra effort is well worth it.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Ryan Lynch.
