Apple Podcasts 12+

Since Covid struck and since having a baby fashion to me has seemed pointless, frivolous and made me ashamed of the amount of money I used to spend on clothes. Finding out more on how terrible the impact the fashion industry has on the environment has really stopped me in my tracks and I just ceased to shop for new things…. However I have always loved vintage, even before it was a ‘thing’ and I have some insane pieces in my collection that I could never throw away even though I will never be able to fit into them again, and listening to this podcast has made me stop and think that I don’t need to throw the ‘baby out with the bath water’ as it were, I just need to start thrifting again (which doesn’t have a negative impact on our planet), I needed that love of vintage to be re-ignited even though I am no longer a size 8 (and probably never will be) and embrace a different me and this podcast series has done just that. The guests are fascinating and intelligent - it’s the guests that really make the podcast great - particularly the episode with Jemima Kirke who is so articulate and fascinating. I found this podcast because I love Bay’s style, glad I gave it a go!

There is a privacy issue here which I feel has been overlooked . Unlike Apple News , you can't clear your browsing history or reset advertising identifiers - Apple Podcast settings are very limited . I have had many adverts embedded in my favourite podcasts which have not only been specific to my city , but locations for places and services literally within a mile from my house , and intended to be appropriate to my age / interests . As I have said , this app doesn't give you privacy but obviously does collect location and use other personal information . I feel Apple needs to address this . Apple's Private relay only protects whilst web browsing . It would seem to keep your Podcast and personal information private you may need a router-installed VPN to prevent this sort of tracking to begin with . Doubt Apple will publish this review , but it may have brought it to their attention - being a privacy-first company which relies upon customer's trust ? I wait to see . I should mention that I have all location services turned off except ' Find My ' for iOS and Mac devices - so the source of tracking must be from ISP ID or ' Find My ' . Very much like podcast apps but am considering switching to another provider . I like to keep my location and interests apart from intrusive advertisers and the triangulation of trackers . Apple doesn't seem to be honouring that with their Podcasts app .

I see high ratings for Apple’s podcast and really understand. The enjoyment I get from the amazing range of (free) podcasts is massive. This 1 star rating is for the app, which frankly is terrible. The app itself has not changed much since the first versions I used back on iPhone 4. It freezes, it glitches, it’s almost impossible to sort podcasts and some of my favourites like The Daily just never appear in my latest feeds. It’s also a massive memory hog, and you’ve few options for listening offline other than to download every episode of a show. Another bugbear is that most of the app is given over to promoting podcasts I have no interest in. A “shop window” is nice starting out, but as an experienced user this app leaves me cold, especially when what I’m looking for is well hidden. It’s a real shame, this app is the gateway to amazing content. It’s just been neglected, with bells and whistles added while the engine is as old and rotten as you’d expect from something over 10 years old.