Why is Apple Podcasts app using 2.71GB of data despite having zero downloaded episodes?

[gadgetguru72]

Hi everyone -

My Apple Podcasts app is using 2.71GB of data, and I can’t figure out why.

I have zero downloaded episodes. I just stream.

I do “save” a lot of episodes, but I don’t download those either. If I look under “downloaded episodes” there is nothing there.

I sync between my iPhone and iPad, but I don’t download anything on either device.

Anyone have any clue why the app is using so much data under these circumstances?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ledzepfan1981]

I don't know, but when I had my previous iPhone (iPhone X) and only 64gb of space, I had to keep offloading that app whenever there was a large update!

 

[MegaBlue]

All apps continuously cache data, and it’s especially true with audio apps.

I’ve had apps like Spotify and Apple Music accumulate 8GB+ worth of cached data before.

These apps do this largely in part to make your listening experience consistent with network switches and data hiccups, as well as performance reasons (easier to download the next few songs in advance and keep the last few songs saved in case you decide to start skipping around), amongst other reasons.

There’s not really much you can do to control this since Podcasts has no option built in to clear its cache. By design, iOS will purge this data to make space when the system is running low and needs it. You used to be able to manually trigger this by downloading a TV show/movie from iTunes or Apple TV+ that was larger than your available storage. However I don’t know if that’s true with iOS 16.

Unless you’re actively getting messages from your phone warning you about storage, there’s no reason to worry.

 

[gadgetguru72]

All apps continuously cache data, and it’s especially true with audio apps.

I’ve had apps like Spotify and Apple Music accumulate 8GB+ worth of cached data before.

These apps do this largely in part to make your listening experience consistent with network switches and data hiccups, as well as performance reasons (easier to download the next few songs in advance and keep the last few songs saved in case you decide to start skipping around), amongst other reasons.

There’s not really much you can do to control this since Podcasts has no option built in to clear its cache. By design, iOS will purge this data to make space when the system is running low and needs it. You used to be able to manually trigger this by downloading a TV show/movie from iTunes or Apple TV+ that was larger than your available storage. However I don’t know if that’s true with iOS 16.

Unless you’re actively getting messages from your phone warning you about storage, there’s no reason to worry.

Good to know, and that makes a lot of sense. Thank you.