Pocket Casts, you altered the deal, so I will alter your app

User reaction to Pocket Casts ads

• Many long-time users report “rage uninstalling” over new in‑app banner ads, especially because they appear on the main “now playing” screen and weren’t clearly announced in release notes.
• Some say they’d have accepted the app going stale or being re-released under a new SKU over having an existing paid app “vandalised” with ads.
• Several describe a sharp drop in goodwill and say this now negatively colors their view of all Automattic products.

Lifetime purchase, promises, and contracts

• One side argues users are entitled to ad‑free use because the app was sold as “pay once, use forever” and explicitly marketed as having no ads. Adding ads is seen as reneging and, in some jurisdictions, potentially false advertising.
• Others push back that a one‑time $3–$5 fee 10–14 years ago cannot reasonably fund indefinite maintenance, likening expectations to exploiting “free refill” offers.
• Debate over “lifetime” deals: some call for regulation or at least honest disclosure around what “lifetime” means; others note that in many industries it’s already a fuzzy marketing term.

Costs, sustainability, and what Pocket Casts actually runs

• Several ask how a podcast client that doesn’t host audio can lose ~$800k/year; they speculate core infrastructure is cheap (RSS indexing, account syncing, artwork), and most cost is continued feature development.
• Others stress that cloud bills and multi‑platform development do add up, and insist one‑time fees are structurally unsustainable except for static, mostly offline apps.

Automattic’s response and trust issues

• An Automattic representative states that anyone who has ever paid should not see ads; if they do, it’s a “bug,” and such users should be upgraded to a “Champions” tier.
• Multiple commenters report support emails and forum replies telling them to pay for a subscription instead, contradicting that statement and fueling skepticism that this was a bug rather than a reversed policy after backlash.
• Some ask for proactive, global fixes and refunds instead of quiet, one‑off upgrades for people who complain publicly.

Alternatives and app‑store constraints

• Users mention AntennaPod, Overcast, Downcast, and others as replacements, often citing simpler, mostly local operation and/or FOSS as protection against “enshittification.”
• There’s discussion of how Apple/Google’s lack of first‑class paid-upgrade support makes “Pocket Casts 2”–style versioned releases awkward, nudging developers toward subscriptions or ad insertion.