How to Get Rid of Ads on Apple Podcasts

Can you turn off ads in Apple Podcasts?

No, there’s no setting. The ads are inside each episode’s audio file. ZeroAds cuts them out of that file and gives you a clean feed you follow by URL in Apple Podcasts, so the show plays ad-free.

Same app, same library. Only the feed changes. The steps for iPhone, iPad and Mac are below, then what to expect once it’s running. If you first want to know whether Apple Podcasts has ads at all, and who puts them there, read does Apple Podcasts have ads?

How to get rid of ads on Apple Podcasts

1. Sign up at zeroads.ai. Your first 5 episodes are free.
2. Add the show you want cleaned. Play the free episodes in the ZeroAds web player to hear the cuts on your own show.
3. Subscribe and copy that show’s clean feed URL. Every show you add gets its own. Founding members pay $5.99 a month.
4. Follow that URL in Apple Podcasts. On iPhone or iPad, open Library, tap the More button (three dots), tap Follow a Show by URL, paste the URL and tap Follow. On a Mac, open the File menu, click Follow a Show by URL, paste the URL and click Follow.
5. The show now sits under Library > Shows. New episodes arrive with the ads already cut out. Repeat step 4 for each show you add.

Unfollow the show’s original feed once the clean one is in, or you’ll see every episode twice.

Before signing up, browse sample episode reports from a small selection of public shows we’ve already processed. Each report lists the detected cuts with timestamps. Detection can miss ads or cut other audio.

Those menu paths are Apple’s own. They’re in the Apple Podcasts user guide under “Follow a show by URL”.

What changes, and what doesn’t

Your app stays put. The clean feed arrives as a new show in your library, so your settings don’t change. Episodes you queued or downloaded from the original feed stay with that feed; the clean one starts fresh.

The episodes get shorter. The ads come out of the audio itself, host reads and inserted ads alike. Every cut is listed with timestamps in an episode report you can check.

In our accuracy tests against hand-labeled episodes we catch 97-98% of ad time.

Apple’s paid subscriptions aren’t part of this. Those are per-show plans priced by each creator. One ZeroAds subscription covers every show you add, and each show gets its own clean feed URL to follow.

Spotify and Amazon Music are out. Neither accepts a feed by URL, so the clean feed can’t reach them (what to do instead on Spotify). It works in Apple Podcasts and 47+ other apps: Pocket Casts, Overcast, Podcast Addict and any app with an add-by-URL option.

Curious why the ads are there in the first place, and why Apple can’t switch them off? That’s answered in does Apple Podcasts have ads? Want the whole product on one page before you sign up? See ad-free podcasts in the app you already use.

FAQ

Can I turn off ads in Apple Podcasts settings? No. There is no ad setting, because the ads are part of the audio file. The fix is a feed with the ads already cut out, which Apple Podcasts follows by URL.

Does this work on iPhone, iPad and Mac? Yes. Follow a Show by URL exists on all three, and the show appears under Library > Shows anywhere Apple Podcasts syncs your library.

Do I need an Apple Podcasts subscription? No. Apple’s subscriptions are per-show paid plans priced by each creator. One ZeroAds subscription covers every show you add, at $5.99 a month for founding members; each show gets its own clean feed URL.

Will it miss some ads? Very few. In our accuracy tests against hand-labeled episodes we catch 97-98% of ad time, and every cut is listed with timestamps in an episode report, so you can check our work.

Is this allowed? You’re processing a public RSS feed for personal use. ZeroAds is also building a revenue-sharing program for creators (see our Creator FAQ).

Comparing every way to remove podcast ads, ours included? Read the complete guide to removing podcast ads.

Get ad-free Apple Podcasts. First 5 episodes free →