Bug: Remove played episodes has stopped working on iOS App

[ankurb]

There seems to be a bug in the Spotify iOS app (I'm currently running version 8.9.19.571). I listen to podcasts using Spotify and I have auto-downloads turned on. I also have "Remove played episodes" set to "After playing". In the past, this used to automatically remove downloaded podcasts from the "Your episodes" view when a podcast was marked as played.

For the past few weeks, however, the podcast remains once it has been marked as played. I need to manually remove the podcast by clicking the button that marks it as downloaded.

[UndeadOrange]

Same issue here, also an iOS with the newest iPhone 15 Pro and Spotify version would love of this gets patched, it is such a great feature!

[Susan_GP]

Hi there folks,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community about this. 

We understand this is only happening on your mobile devices. If you haven't, check if the already played episodes show up in the Playlist from another device, and from the Web Player.

In the meantime, you can try to clear the app's cache by going to Settings > Storage > Clear cache. If that doesn't help, try reinstalling the app to check if that makes a difference. No worries, you won't lose any content, but you might need to download your offline music again.

Keep us posted!

[ankurb]

I’ve done a clean reinstall of the app following the official iOS instructions and the problem still persists. Episodes marked as played don’t show up on my other devices. But on my iPhone, even when marked as played, the episodes don’t automatically get removed.

[Eni]

Hi there @ankurb,

Thanks for keeping in touch.

Could you try logging out and back in twice in a row? This will trigger a sync between your iPhone and the app.

If the issue persists, would you mind asking a friend or relative to log in to their account in your device to check if they can replicate this behavior?

It's also worth checking and making sure the OS of your device is updated.

Let us know how it goes.

[ankurb]

I’ve tried logging out twice and logging back in, which didn’t change anything. To be honest the issue is NOT with syncing played status, since podcasts do get correctly marked as played. The issue is they don’t get deleted after they are marked as played.

I did login using a friend’s account on my own device and was able to replicate the issue, ie, downloaded a podcast, marked it as played, and the podcast didn’t get removed. I’ve also been able to replicate this on a different device (on my iPad).

My phone OS is up to date as originally mentioned (it’s on iOS 17.4, which is the latest)

[Eni]

Hi @ankurb, 

Thanks for your reply. 

Would you mind checking if you can replicate this behavior on a different device? 

On another note, we'd like to know if this started happening after a specific event such as an update either of Spotify or the OS of your iPhone. 

We'll be waiting for your reply.

[ankurb]

Yes, I can replicate the behaviour on a different device (iPad instead of iPhone). I believe there’s a few other posters who’ve commented that they have faced a similar issue.

I’m not 100% sure when the problem started, but I’d say about 2-3 weeks ago. Which would line up with the release date of app version 8.9.19 (my current version is 8.9.19.571) as mentioned before.

[Susan_GP]

Hi @ankurb,

Thanks for keeping in touch and for trying out our recommendations. 

If you haven't, we'd recommend changing Remove played episodes to Never, then restart Spotify and change back to After playing. Once done, try to play another episode from Your episodes and let us know if that makes a difference. Additionally, try turning Auto-downloads off just to check if the episodes get removed that way.

If nothing changes, send over the exact make, model, and OS version of the devices you were able to replicate this behavior from.

On another note, if you know someone else who's also experiencing this, it'd be very helpful for them to also post their device info and Spotify version here.

We'll be here.

[ankurb]

If you haven't, we'd recommend changing Remove played episodes to Never, then restart Spotify and change back to After playing. Once done, try to play another episode from Your episodes and let us know if that makes a difference.

I tried this initially and just tried it again. It worked for the FIRST played podcast in the list (was removed after played) but none of the subsequent ones.

Additionally, try turning Auto-downloads off just to check if the episodes get removed that way.

This would defeat the purpose of the auto download feature, which allows having the podcast ready to play regardless of whether there’s internet connectivity or not.

If nothing changes, send over the exact make, model, and OS version of the devices you were able to replicate this behavior from

iPhone 14, model number MPVN3ZD/A, running iOS 17.4, Spotify app version 8.9.19.571

[Africanflourish]

Started a few weeks ago, podcasts are set to automatically delete after played, but they stay in “played” instead. Have to manually remove from list.

[user95244a]

Same here.  I have lots of podcasts in my list and the ones marked play are played again later when they should have auto deleted.

started 2-3 weeks ago beginning of March 2024

When I check for new podcasts, this seems to trigger the auto delete of the older played podcasts, but this does not happen automatically 

[lemon6]

I’m having the same issue. It’s happening on iPhone, web player, and pc desktop. None of the suggested fixes have worked. 

[OscarDC]

Hey folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome.

This type of issue could be related to some damaged cache stored on your device. So in this case, we'd first recommend performing a clean reinstall of the app by following the steps in this article. This process will replace all damaged files and ensure you're running the latest app version.

If the issue persists, would you mind checking on a different device (using your own account) to see if it makes any difference? If you don't have another one available, you can borrow one from a friend or family member to test it out. 

Lastly, include in your next response the make, model, and OS version of your device, along with the Spotify version you're currently running to continue investigating the case.

We'll be on the lookout.

[user95244a]

Thanks.  Over the last week, I followed the steps and first removed and reinstalled Spotify and the issue persisted.  I followed the more advanced steps in the article to clear the cache, but this also resulted in the same behavior.  I have not been able to try this on a second device.
I am using an iphone11 and the issue occurred with both ios 17.4 and 17.4.1.  I am currently using Spotify 8.9.19.571, and the issue has been occuring for over 3 weeks.  It was not occuring two months ago (current date 3/27/2024).
I have the delete podcasts immediate after play selected.  When I look at "Your Episodes", I see the podcasts I recently still listed as "Played" but they have not yet been deleted.  This is the problem because I play my podcasts and several are repeated because they are not automatically deleted
A manual workaround is to go to "New Epidodes" and click on the download icon for a new episode (circle with down arrow).  Returning to "Your Episodes" no longer shows the podcasts that were previously marked "Played".  Downloading a new episode appears to trigger the auto delete; however, the event that should trigger automatic podcast delete after the episode is played does not appear to be firing properly.

[bzerbs]

I've been having the same issue, started just a couple of weeks ago toward beginning of March. I tried all the steps outlined above but still having the same issue of played podcasts not deleting despite my settings saying otherwise. Might be a bug from a previous update.

I am using an iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 17.4.1, Spotify 8.9.19.571

[Africanflourish]

Still have the same issue even with the potential solution, iPhone 15 pro, latest version of Spotify on the App Store

[Maria]

Hey there folks,

Thanks for the replies!

Just to make sure we cover all bases, could you try changing the time frame that the episode should be removed, to see if that makes any difference? For example, if the settings in Your Episode currently is After Playing, try changing it to After 24 hours.

Also, if possible, could you ask a friend or a family member to log in to their own Spotify account on your device, to check if they experience the same thing as you? 

Should this persist, feel free to include videos or photos showing how things look from your end, as it will help us look in to this further. If the files are too large to attach here in the Community, you can send them to us via Google Drive or as unlisted YouTube videos.
 

@Africanflourish - it would be great if you could let us know the exact Spotify version you're using as well, along with the version of your operating system.

Keep us posted on how it goes 🙂

[MartinT]

Hello folks, 

Thank you for alerting us and giving us details on your experience.

Sorry for the delayed response, we looked into this and can confirm that it is being investigated and a fix will be available soon with a following update of the app. 

Cheers.