Please remove suggested podcasts

Please remove or at least give us the option to remove “suggested” or “you might like…” Podcasts. I hate that crap and I promise I will never ever listen to a suggested podcast. All that does is makes me want to find a better podcast app.

Where did you look when searching for an option to remove them?

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Are you referring to “Get surprised” on the home screen?
I likewise have no need for that. Fortunately it’s easy to hide that (and any other home screen sections you don’t like or use) via Configure Home Screen.

I looked in the settings but didn’t see anything. Also, this really should be an opt-in setting, not an opt-out. No one should have suggestions pushed on them unless they ask for them.

You’re right, the option is not in the Settings. It’s on Add podcast > Discover more > … > Hide.

I can see why a user who feels negatively about suggestions would not think of looking there, as they are not looking to “discover more”.

As these things go this a fairly passive form of “pushing” suggestions on people. Similar to a small ad at the bottom of the sports page of a newspaper.

Thanks for the explanation. That’s different than the “Get surprised” I was referring to.

@derekd can you show us a screenshot of what you are, that might clear up what you are asking?

Please don’t. In fact, please improve it.

I don’t; I’m always open to suggestions of new podcasts to listen to related to my interests. I’d like it more if the suggestions were actually based on my subscriptions, though. Can AP do that?

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As AP prides itself on not tracking use then that would be more tricky. It would have to send a query including your subscription and listening use every time it went to find and tailor suggestions. Categorisation by genre (history, science, culture, sport, politics, news etc) with expanded lists if you tap on a genre button would be my preference. One of the “genres” could of course be “New and trending across all genres” - with a shorter and snappier button title. That would be better than a trending genre which includes all the old usual favourites and non-favourites.

The problem is that even just to show what is trending by genre, you need to track users to find out what is popular. Our current suggestions are generated by Apple tracking their users on Apple Podcasts. However, for many more relevant or more detailed suggestions, we would have to start tracking AntennaPod users.

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I highly appreciate your effort to develop a user-friendly app.
In my opinion, it is a good solution to use Apple’s suggestions. I like suggestions.

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You are missing the overall point. This feature should be opt-in… not opt-out. I shouldn’t have had to come to this forum to find a solution to turn off uninvited and un-asked for content being shoved on my home screen. Loucasal got it partially right I think (As dumb and un-intuitive as it was to find that option to hide suggestions). But I am still getting random suggestion in my “surprise me” tab.

These are random episodes from podcasts you are subscribed to. You can turn them off by editing the home screen.

There are significantly more people who want to see suggestions than people wo don’t want to. So the default being “on” is definitely the right choice.

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I can assure you, I am not subscribed to some of these in the “surprise me” section.
Also, that is dumb logic. That’s like saying your music feed is is all “rap/hiphop” but don’t mind that random country and bluegrass keeps getting suggested to you because “the majority of people want to see those suggestions”.
Or if you were strictly a CNN news guy, but Fox news keeps getting pushed in your suggestions because “the majority like suggestions” in their feed.

TBH it is not reasonable to complain about a default setting that can easily be changed. Every app I have used I have spent some time with to learn how it works and change its settings to best suit my own use. And sometimes accept that it is easier to change my own workflow to the way an app works than push for a change to something that it is not actually broken.

BTW I have Subscriptions as my default opening screen so never even see the Home screen most of the time.

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The home screen has five sections, each of which is enabled by default. I’d recommend going to Configure Home Screen and sliding the sections(s) you’d rather not see down to the Hide area. “Opt Out” doesn’t seem like the right term, since it suggests a tedious process like opting out of marketing cookies on a web page over and over again.

I have chosen to hide three of the five options, though I’m glad to have options. Some people choose not to use the Home Screen at all. It’s nice to have that flexibility.

Discover More on the Add Podcast screen is entirely different, but has also been discussed here. I appreciate that @loucasal shared how to disable that one.

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Besides, it’s quite customary for apps and websites to have all sections enabled by default, so that users can see what’s on offer, if they offer the option to disable them at all, which AP does. Otherwise, by @derekd’s logic, the home screen would need to come up blank off the box, and then tediously built up by the user, with no prior knowledge of what each section is.

Mine too.

Isn’t that available per category?

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If that’s happening, it’s a bug. And you’d be the first one to report it. If you notice this again, please don’t hesitate to document with screenshots, export your database, and send it to us for verification. (Probably best done privately not to expose potentially sensitive subscriptions.)