[Updated] Google Podcasts notification won't go away? There may be a workaround

This story is being continuously updated….new updates are being added at the bottom…..

I know in today’s era, the moment one gets some spare time they switch to services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc surfing for their favorite TV shows and movies. But there are scenarios when such kind of entertainment is not possible, like while driving or cooking food for family meal.

Well, if you can’t watch, you can at least listen. Isn’t it? So podcasts (digital audio files) are there for rescue at such times. Podcast feature arrived on Google Search back on 2016. And just last year, the tech giant released a podcast player for Android users called Google Podcasts.

Google Podcasts is integrated with Google Assistant and syncs seamlessly across different company owned products. For instance, you were listening to podcast while travelling in your car, you can resume the episode from where you left on Google Home device once you are home.

With a diversity about 2 million podcasts included in the app, Google Podcasts has its own user base. AI suggestions enhance the overall user experience by recommending podcasts similar to one’s interests and subscriptions.

Media control buttons (more popularly called the audio player) available at the bottom of the podcast app, provides basic controls like progress bar, forward/rewind, play/pause. When not inside the app, the same audio player shows in notifications for quick access while listening to a podcast.

But recently, we are getting reports about Google Podcasts’ audio player notifications acting a bit buggy. Users have been chiming across different help forums that podcasts audio player notification doesn’t do away despite closing the app. Users can’t swipe away podcast notification anymore.

Here’s how some of the affected users word the issue across Pixel phones help and Google Help forum:

After opening and playing a podcast on google podcasts the audio player in notifications will not go away even after the podcast is over and even after I close google podcasts. I can’t swipe it away. The only way I’ve found is to restart the phone. Am I missing something?

Well it’s not specific to Pixel phones because I’m having the same problem on my Oneplus 6. Before this if i paused the podcast the notification thing just went away and O had to go in app again to play. And now it’s the opposite where it doesn’t want to go away even if I try.

I’m having the same issue, crazy how they can change the app behaviour without an app update. Killing the app doesn’t remove the notification for me. Very annoying.

Similar reports have been posted across Twitter and the Review section of the app’s Play Store listings page. Here are some reports for you to take a quick glance:

Basically, Google Podcasts notification that otherwise should go away sometime after podcast stops, continue to stay. A lot of affected users have confirmed that neither killing (or force closing) Google Podcasts app through settings nor rebooting the phone resolves the issue.

While initially it appeared the Podcasts’ persistent notifications issue is specific to Google Pixel phone users with devices like Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 3, soon after users with other Android devices like Samsung Galaxy S10 and OnePlus 6 confirmed they are also facing the same.

So the problem is at least not device specific. And reportedly, it showed up out of nowhere without any new app update being released to break the functionality. As far as we can see, the Google Podcasts app hasn’t been updated since last year.

While Google Podcasts users continue complaining, there’s a workaround that has been confirmed at least by a handful of users. All you have to do is Force stop Google app (by heading to Settings> Apps> Google app>) and that does the trick.

Here’s what some of the affected users who gave the workaround a try said:

Same problem and for now force stop Google app untill they fix this

Same here. Only way to get rid of it is either restarting phone, or force stopping the “Google” app.. OR turn off the audio player notification all together but then you can’t control the player outside of the app. So fricken annoying.

So in case you are also facing this issue, give the workaround a try and see if that fixes the problem for you. And don’t forget to tell us how it goes. Rest assured, like always, we are keeping an active tab on the matter and will update the story as and when any new development comes to our notice.

Different products experts at help forums are suggesting the complainants to reach out to the app developers to get the issue resolved. Here’s what one of the product experts said:

I suggest everyone to send a feedback through the Google App and Google Podcast app.

Here’s what another product expert said:

It might be best to reach out to the app developers about this, via their contact details on its Play Store listing.

P.S. Just in case there’s a better workaround that has helped you resolve the issue, feel free to share with us so that others affected users can also give it a shot.

Follow @PiunikaWeb

PiunikaWeb is a unique initiative that mainly focuses on investigative journalism. This means we do a lot of hard work to come up with news stories that are either ‘exclusive,’ ‘breaking,’ or ‘curated’ in nature. Perhaps that’s the reason our work has been picked by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and more. Do take a tour of our website to get a feel of our work. And if you like what we do, stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) and other social media channels to receive timely updates on stories we publish.