PSA: You can now delete the podcasts app on Windows 10

Microsoft’s podcasts app was one of the new Microsoft store apps introduced in Windows Phone 8.1. It allowed users to listen to podcasts from the web and download them in an easy and convenient to use app, at least in theory.

In practice, the podcasts app was quite user unfriendly and lacked several features, even now it has a net rating of 2.6 stars with reviews like the following

Remove it seems like a good idea.

What a waste of memory

So tired of this app. One day works fine as advertised and the next won’t play a.god damm thing wasting a ton of my data plan which sucks

What is there to like? Almost nothing. This app does not help with podcast discovery, and only offers bare-bones management features. What a let down.

Microsoft seems to agree. The app irself has – unlike every other stock app for Windows 10 – not been updated into a Windows 10 universal app. Now, on the last builds of Windows 10 mobile, the podcast app is no longer included among appps that cannot be removed and can be uninstalled like any other non-essential app.

It is currently unknown as to whether Microsoft plans to update the app to a Windows 10 app or drop it completely and let third parties like Pocketcasts fill that hole. Till then at least, podcast app haters can reclaim some valuable space.

[appbox windowsstore 9wzdncrfhv5h]