It’s one of many alternatives to Apple’s podcast app, but Castro was one of the more popular on the iPhone. But there has been a huge problem with the app for days. This and the slow development since the app was sold several years ago are currently leading to worried discussions online about the future of the podcast player.
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There is little official information. “We are aware of the current database issue,” says one post, which was published on X/Twitter early Tuesday morning German time. In many comments, users of the app criticize the fact that the notification only came after days of problems. A post from a former support employee to whom individual users turned in their distress caused further confusion. He writes, that the app would even be taken out of service for two months, but without naming sources or substantiating his statement. The answer to a query from heise online to the developer company Tiny Podcasts in Canada is still pending.
App was resold in 2018
Castro has impressed reviewers in the past with his unconventional approach to creating an inbox for new podcast episodes. This allows frequent listeners, in particular, to easily organize the order of new episodes. The developers offer additional functions in a subscription version called Castro Plus. These include importing audio files from other sources (sideloading), functions to enhance the sound and control based on chapter markers. The developers changed their sales model several times over the years.
The first version of Castro was released in 2013 by Irish startup Supertop. Its founders Pádraig Ó Cinnéide and Oisín Prendiville, who now live in Canada, sold Castro to Tiny Capital in 2018. Pádraig later moved to Apple, where he says was involved in the development of the Xcode Cloud.
Users: Problems bring the app down
Users complain that the app has not been developed to the same intensity since it was sold. Due to the database problems, there have been constant retrieval errors in the past few days, which have affected updating podcasts, downloads and retrieving show notes.
(mki)