topic Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled in Your Library

New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 14:44:56 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Device

iPhone, Mac, across all devices

Operating System

My Question or Issue

I follow a few podcasts which will be downloaded automatically when new episodes get released. Everything is fine with that. However I don't listen to one of those podcasts anymore. That's why I want to deactivate the option to automatically download new episodes of this podcast.

I know there are settings for this but I already deactivated all of those but the new episodes still get downloaded every time. I have to remove them manually every time which is quite annoying.

I would appreciate every help.

(Sorry if my english is bad. English is not my native language)

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

AlejaR — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 21:26:58 GMT

Hey there @fje,

Thanks for reaching out and sorry for the late reply here.

Just to confirm, have you stopped following those podcasts? Make sure you're not following them after that, try the following:

Clear the cache of the app to remove any old files that might be causing issues.
Log out and log in twice in a row onto your Spotify account. This could sound a little bit odd, but this way the system will force a resync of your account in general.

If the above doesn't do the trick, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us:

The make/model and OS of the affected device.
The Spotify version you're running there.
Send us the link to one of the podcasts in which you perceive this behavior.

Keep us in the loop!

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:48:55 GMT

Thanks for the reply.

Yes I have already unfollowed the podcasts which I don't want to get downloaded anymore. I will try the steps you gave me and let you know if something has changed or not. However I'll have to wait a bit until the podcast releases a new episode until I can see whether the automatic downloading stopped or not.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

AlejaR — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 15:49:50 GMT

Hey there @fje,

Thanks for your reply.

Take all the time you need to see if this behavior changes. Meanwhile, we'd suggest you go to Your episodes folder and select the settings there by tapping the wheel icon. There, tap Downloads > Auto-downloads. There, you can make sure both are not enabled for auto-download and you're not following them.

We'll be on the lookout!

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:01:42 GMT

Hi, sadly I have to report that the automatic downloads haven't stopped.

I once again checked, that I don't follow the podcast and don't have the auto-download option enabled but still a new episode was downloaded.

Because of that I will give you the information you asked about in your first reply:
Affected Devices:
- Mac Book Pro 2021 14" with macOS 15.0.1 (Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon) 1.2.48.405.gf2c48e6f)

- iPhone 13 with 18.0.1 (Spotify 8.9.82.628)

- iPad Pro 11" with iPadOS 17.7 (Spotify 8.9.82.628)

And the only podcast I experience this issue is https://open.spotify.com/show/6UUIXmp1V0fK4ZpK7vzAbQ?si=49a5533097024ddc

Thanks for your efforts to help me with this issue!

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

Ivelina — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 10:00:19 GMT

Appreciate the info @fje.

To help with investigating this further, would you mind letting us know if you noticed when this started happening for the first time and if it was after a specific event?

Because you're experiencing this behavior across devices, would you mind asking a relative or a friend to log in to their account and test if the same thing would happen with the podcast in mind?

Lastly, let us know if you notice a difference with another internet connection (share mobile data via hotspot).

Hope to hear from you soon.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:26:15 GMT

Hi,

sadly I can't remember the time of this problem occured first but it was a few months ago fur sure. At that time I unfollowed the mentioned podcast and removed it from my download list but it kept getting downloaded and added to my "Your Episodes" folder every time a new episode got released. For a few weeks I manually removed the episodes every time a new one got released until I contacted you in this forum.

Just for clarification: The episodes only get added to my library and downloaded once when a new episode is released and after I remove it it doesn't come back. Thats also why it's difficult to test if the same problem occurrs on other devices or other internet connections because I don't know exactly when new episodes are released.

Thanks for your help!

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

Eni — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:29:49 GMT

Hey there @fje,

Thanks for your reply.

We understand where you're coming from. To check if this is account-related, could you create a new account for testing purposes, follow and unfollow the podcast there to see if the same happens? Take your time to test this for a few weeks and let us know how it goes.

We'll be on the lookout.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 10:55:23 GMT

Hi,

as you suggested I created a new account, followed and unfollowed the podcast. However on this account the problem doesn't occur.

Thanks for your help

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

Dessi — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 11:31:42 GMT

Hey @fje,

Thanks for testing this out and getting back to us!

Since this doesn't occur on the new account you've created, it's worth removing access to any apps you have connected on your old account. You can do this from your account page.

If this persists afterwards, however, you might want to consider transferring the content from your old account to the new one by following these steps. I see you also mentioned having a Premium subscription - if you're on Premium Individual or are the owner of a Family/Duo plan, you can cancel it and wait until the account reverts to the free service before re-subscribing again on the new account. Just keep in mind that if you're a Family/Duo plan owner, you'd need to re-invite the members again afterwards.

If you're part of a Family/Duo plan, you can ask the plan owner to remove you from it and send an invite to the new account. In case you have a Premium Student discount, it'd be best to reach out to the Customer Support Team and they can help you transfer it to the other account.

Keep us posted.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

fje — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 11:16:39 GMT

Hi there,

sadly removing any access to my Spotify account from third-party-apps didn't work either. Therefore I will create a new account as you suggested. However I can't really say that I'm happy with that decision since the problem looked like a simple fix.

I'm still thankful for your efforts to help me with this problem.

Why is my phone downloading episodes of a podcast I don't follow?

njrutz — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 23:27:25 GMT

I unfollowed a podcast (DataFramed) but every episode is automatically downloading still. I followed and unfollowed the podcast again. I have tried every option to stop it from auto-downloading.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

vyecore — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:48:19 GMT

hi, this same problem is happening to me and has been happening for a year now. I have tried everything listed on this spotify question forums and nothing is working. please help.

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

AlejaR — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:51:24 GMT

Hey there @vyecore,

Thanks for posting in this thread.

We understand you've tried some troubleshooting. Would you mind sending us the exact steps you've tried so far? That way we can avoid repeating any.

If you haven't yet, we'd recommend you make sure to clean the store cache of the app. After that, we suggest you log out and log in twice in a row onto your Spotify account. This could sound a little bit odd, but this way the system will force a resync of your account in general.

If the above doesn't do the trick, we'd like to gather some additional info. Please send us:

The make/model and OS of the affected device.
The exact Spotify version you're running.
Does this happen with a specific show? If yes, share with us the link to it.
Does this happen if you open a different account on the affected device? You can ask for the mobile device of a relative or a friend to open your account and check.

Keep us in the loop!

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

vyecore — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:36:10 GMT

Hi @AlejaR,

Thank you for replying. I tried to log out of all accounts, relogin and it still occurred. I tried to log in and log out twice, but a week later when the podcast uploaded it automatically downloaded again. I have also checked countless times if auto download is on, and it is not. I do not even follow this podcast anymore. I am also on a family premium subscription that I do not run.

I have an iPhone 11 and I am on IOS 26.1

The spotify version I am running is 91.28.2258

Yes, this only happens with the Out of Character podcast.

I am not sure what you mean by the last question. I will try to answer as best I can. On my laptop, it does not automatically download, but it adds it to my library.

Thank you. Please update me on what can be done.

@vyecore

Re: New podcast episodes still get downloaded with automatic downloads disabled

Vasil — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:02:54 GMT

Hey @vyecore.

Thanks for joining the thread! Sorry to see this has been going on.

Could you let us know if your third party apps may contain entries that could be causing this behaviour as @Dessi has mentioned above? I'd take a screenshot of what I have there and then remove them one by one to see if that would make a difference. The rest of the apps can later be re-added.

As well as doing this, I'd also advise going over the steps for securing your account from this FAQ article just in case.

Keep us posted on how things go. We'll be on the lookout 🙂