App version: 3.12.0 (Google Play)
Problem / Use Case
Some podcast hosts (notably Substack) publish a short “preview” audio file to their free feed early in the week. Later in the week, they convert the post to a public episode and update the feed entry with the full-length audio file.
When this update happens:
-
The audio enclosure URL changes.
-
The
<itunes:duration>and filelengthincrease significantly. -
The
<guid>remains identical.
Because AntennaPod auto-downloads the short preview when it first appears, it logs that specific GUID as completed. When the RSS feed is updated days later with the full episode, AntennaPod ignores the updated file and enclosure URL because the GUID has already been downloaded. The user is left with only the preview file unless they manually delete and redownload it.
Real-World Example:
-
Monday (Preview):
- GUID:
<guid isPermaLink="false">substack:post:212584531</guid> - Duration:
<itunes:duration>100</itunes:duration>(1 min 40 sec) - Size:
length="1596739"(~1.6 MB)
- GUID:
-
Friday (Full Episode):
- GUID:
<guid isPermaLink="false">substack:post:212584531</guid>(UNCHANGED) - Duration:
<itunes:duration>3281</itunes:duration>(54 min 41 sec) - Size:
length="52501180"(~52.5 MB) - Enclosure URL: Swapped to the new full MP3 hash
- GUID:
Because the GUID does not change, AntennaPod treats the full episode on Friday as already completed and leaves the 100-second preview file in the user’s storage.
Proposed Solutions / Ideas
-
Option to Update/Re-download on Feed Refresh: If a feed refresh detects that an already-downloaded GUID now has a different enclosure URL or a significantly larger file size/duration, trigger a redownload (or flag it for update).
-
Per-Podcast Download Delay: Allow users to set a delay for specific feeds (e.g., “Wait 4 days after publication before auto-downloading”). This would allow AntennaPod to wait out the preview window until the full file is uploaded.