Media and podcast players
Pocket Casts privacy rating
Podcast player from Automattic for Android, iOS, the web and desktop, with syncing across devices, discovery and a paid Plus tier. The mobile apps are open source.
Summary
Pocket Casts scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the media and podcast players criteria. It partly meets open source and no ads or data sales. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry and independent audit. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Score 25 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
-
Partial
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
The Android and iOS apps are MPL-2.0, but the sync server and web player are closed source.
-
No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
The Android app contains Google Firebase Analytics and Sentry. In-app analytics can be turned off in settings.
-
Partial
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
The free app shows banner ads that Plus removes, and the privacy policy states personal data is not sold or shared for targeted advertising.
-
No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.