To delete a downloaded podcast episode on iPhone, open Podcasts > Library > Downloaded, tap the show, touch and hold the episode, and tap Remove Download. You can also swipe left on the episode and choose Remove Download. For everything downloaded in Apple Podcasts, open Library > Downloaded > More > Remove All Downloads, then confirm.
Removing the download frees the episode’s local file from your iPhone. It is a different action from unsaving an episode, unfollowing a show, or canceling a paid subscription. Choose the download controls when your goal is to recover storage while continuing to use Apple Podcasts. To add a show rather than remove one, see how to follow or subscribe to a podcast on iPhone.
Choose What You Want to Remove
Start with the smallest cleanup that suits your goal. Removing one finished episode is different from clearing all the recordings you planned to hear offline during a trip.
| Your goal | Control to use |
|---|---|
| Remove one offline episode | Remove Download on that episode. |
| Remove a show’s downloaded episodes | Remove Downloads for that show. |
| Clear all Apple Podcasts downloads | Remove All Downloads in Library > Downloaded. |
| Remove an episode from Saved | Unsave or the Unsave button. |
| Stop following a show | Unfollow in the show’s menu; review any download choice. |
| Stop future automatic downloads | Automatically Download in Podcasts settings, or the show’s automatic download control. |
Check that you are in Apple’s Podcasts app before following these steps. Spotify, Overcast, and other players manage their own downloads. Removing an Apple Podcasts download will not clear an offline copy stored inside another app. For videos saved in the YouTube app, see how to delete downloads from YouTube on an iPhone.
The main instructions below follow Apple’s current download and removal guide, with its iOS 27 version selected during review on October 1, 2026. Older version differences are called out where the menu route changes.
How to Delete One Downloaded Podcast Episode
- Open the Podcasts app.
- Tap Library, then Downloaded. If the tab bar is collapsed on your version, tap it to bring the navigation choices into view.
- Tap the show containing the episode you want to remove.
- Find the episode by title. Touch and hold it, then choose Remove Download. Alternatively, swipe left on its row and tap Remove Download.
- Check the downloaded list again. You are looking for the removal of its offline copy, rather than the disappearance of its listing from the show’s catalog.
Apple also documents using the episode’s More button to choose Remove Download. This gives you another route if a swipe gesture is awkward or you are already looking at the episode information page. Use the menu beside the relevant episode, rather than the menu for the whole show.
Removing a download does not remove the publisher’s episode from the podcast itself. You may still see it on the show page or in a saved list. If it is still available and your account has any required access, you can stream it or download it again with an internet connection.
Before removing an episode you want to hear without Wi-Fi or cellular service, make sure you are comfortable losing that offline copy. Re-downloading later depends on the episode remaining available; avoid treating a download as permanently recoverable just because you can see its title today.
How to Remove Every Download from One Show
Use this option when one show has accumulated a large backlog but you want to leave other shows’ offline episodes alone.
- Open Podcasts.
- Tap Library, then Shows.
- Touch and hold the show you want to clean up.
- Tap Remove Downloads.
- Tap Remove Downloads again if prompted to confirm.
Apple’s support article also describes holding a show in Library > Downloaded and choosing Remove Downloads. Either documented route targets that show’s downloaded files. Check the show name before confirming, especially if you follow several podcasts with similar titles.
On the separately reviewed iOS 17 and iOS 18 guide layouts, open Library > Shows, tap the show to open its information page, then use the show’s More button and choose Remove Downloads. Those older instructions place the command inside the show page rather than requiring the current touch-and-hold route.
You can continue following the show after clearing its downloads. If you want to stop future episodes downloading, change the automatic download preference as described below. Clearing existing files and controlling future downloads solve different parts of the storage problem.
How to Delete All Downloaded Podcasts at Once
This clears the downloaded episode files managed by Apple Podcasts, including episodes from multiple shows. Review anything you need for offline listening before starting.
- Open Podcasts.
- Tap Library, then Downloaded.
- Tap the More button, represented by three dots, for the downloaded list.
- Tap Remove All Downloads.
- Confirm by tapping Remove Downloads when the confirmation appears.
Use the menu for Downloaded, not an individual episode’s More menu. If you only see Remove Download, you are probably working with one episode. If you see a show-level Remove Downloads, that is the smaller cleanup for that show.
Afterward, return to Downloaded to check what remains. A listing in Shows, Saved, or a search result does not by itself mean the downloaded file survived. Those screens can still describe episodes you can find or play online.
Saved Episodes and Downloaded Episodes Are Different
Saving is a way to keep track of an episode. Downloading stores a copy for offline playback. An episode can have both states, which explains why removing one kind of entry may leave the other visible.
Apple says saving an episode automatically downloads it unless you turn off Download When Saving. To change that preference, open Settings > Apps > Podcasts and turn Download When Saving off. On iOS 17’s older Settings layout, go directly to Settings > Podcasts.
If you want to remove a saved entry, open the Saved section of your Podcasts library. On the current guide’s layout, use the Unsave button near the episode name, or open its More menu and choose Unsave. Older layouts may let you open the show in Saved, swipe left on an episode, and tap Unsave, or use Unsave Episode in its menu.
For storage cleanup, inspect Downloaded separately and use Remove Download for any offline copy you do not need. Unsave is not a reliable substitute for deliberately checking whether a download remains. Conversely, removing a download does not require you to remove the episode’s saved entry.
How to Stop Podcast Downloads from Coming Back
Deleting downloads is only the first part of cleanup if new episodes continue arriving automatically. Apple says the newest episode downloads automatically when you follow a show, and its settings let you change the download behavior.
Turn Off Automatic Downloads for All Shows
- Open the iPhone Settings app.
- Tap Apps, then Podcasts.
- Under Automatic Downloads, tap Automatically Download.
- Choose Off if you want to stop automatically downloading future episodes of followed shows.
If you still want a small offline collection, choose an offered episode count or time frame instead of Off. Use the choices displayed by your version. You do not need an unlimited backlog to keep a few recent episodes ready for a commute.
This controls future automatic downloads. If your goal is also to reclaim space immediately, inspect Library > Downloaded and remove the files already present. Turning off an automatic preference should not be treated as confirmation that all earlier files have been cleared.
Turn Off Automatic Downloads for One Show
Apple’s download and delete support article gives this route: open the show in Podcasts, tap the check mark at the top of its page, and tap Turn Off Automatic Downloads. This lets you change that show’s download behavior while retaining other shows’ preferences.
Also review Download When Saving if episodes keep appearing after you save them. The automatic setting for followed shows and the setting for saved episodes are separate reasons an offline file can arrive.
Review Automatic Removal of Played Downloads
Apple says downloaded episodes are automatically deleted 24 hours after they are played. The setting is Remove Played Downloads, under Settings > Apps > Podcasts. Turn it off if you want to keep played offline copies; leave or turn it on if you want that automatic cleanup.
The 24-hour timing matters. Marking or playing an episode should not be treated as an instant equivalent to tapping Remove Download. Use the removal command if you want to clear a particular downloaded file now.
Before changing several controls, note their current values. To restore your earlier preferences, return to the same settings and restore the automatic download choice, Download When Saving, or Remove Played Downloads individually. Restoring a preference is different from recovering a file you already removed.
Check Video Download Preferences
Apple’s current guide says only audio is downloaded for video episodes by default. If you have enabled Download Video in Settings > Apps > Podcasts, review whether you still want video versions stored offline.
The current settings also distinguish video streaming over cellular from downloading video. Apple documents Video Streaming > Allow Over Cellular and a separate Automatic Downloads > Allow Over Cellular choice, including Audio Only or Video where offered. Choose what suits your data plan; allowing cellular video can use your carrier allowance.
Changing a future video download preference does not prove that earlier video downloads are gone. Check and remove unwanted existing downloads separately.
How to Check the Storage You Reclaimed
Open Settings > General > iPhone Storage, let the app list load, then tap Podcasts for its detailed usage. Compare this with the same screen before cleanup, rather than comparing unrelated iCloud storage figures.
Apple distinguishes an app’s own storage from its documents and data. Podcast downloads contribute to the space the app uses, but not every byte shown for an app must be one removable episode. Storage screens can also categorize cached or temporary files differently from the Finder, Apple Devices, or iTunes on a computer.
If you are checking the whole phone, our guide to checking and freeing up iPhone storage explains where the device storage list is. Use that list to identify the app still using space instead of deleting personal content at random.
Offload App keeps an app’s documents and data while removing the app itself, according to Apple. It is therefore a different operation from removing offline episode files. Delete App removes the app and its related data. Start with the Podcasts download controls when you want to keep listening in the app.
Troubleshooting Podcasts That Seem Not to Delete
The Episode Still Appears in the Library
Check which library section you are viewing. A show’s episode catalog, a Saved entry, and a downloaded copy are different things. Return to Downloaded and inspect the specific episode’s available commands. An episode remaining findable online does not establish that its offline file is still on the phone.
You Cannot Find Remove All Downloads
Open Library > Downloaded and use that list’s More button. A single episode’s menu gives a smaller removal command. On older layouts, a show’s removal command can be inside its information page instead of in the current long-press menu.
If the downloaded list is empty, there may be no files there to remove. If you use another podcast player, inspect that app’s own download controls. An Overcast or Spotify storage problem will not be fixed by repeatedly opening Apple Podcasts.
Episodes Keep Downloading Again
Review Automatically Download, the individual show preference, and Download When Saving. Consider what you did just before the episode returned: following a show or saving an episode can explain a new download. Compare those settings before assuming the original removal failed.
The Storage Total Does Not Drop as Expected
Reopen iPhone Storage and let it recalculate. Confirm that the files removed were in Apple Podcasts and that another player or app is not the one using most of the space. A large Documents & Data number can contain more than the downloads you just removed.
If the removal command has no effect on a genuinely downloaded episode, reopen Podcasts and check again; a normal iPhone restart and an available iOS update are reasonable further checks. If it persists, contact Apple Support with the affected episode and the behavior you see. A forum report that deleting and reinstalling an app worked for someone is not a guarantee that it will fix your library.
For content actually synced from a computer, Apple says the Synced content storage category must be managed using the Finder, Apple Devices, or iTunes. That is a separate situation from a recording downloaded in the current Podcasts app. Avoid applying a 2009 iTunes sync workaround to every modern download problem.
How to Download an Episode Again
Find the show or episode in Podcasts, touch and hold the episode, and choose Download. Apple also documents a download button or the episode’s More menu. Older versions may label the menu item Download Episode.
You need a working connection and any access the episode requires. Wait for the download to complete and check Library > Downloaded before relying on it offline. If the publisher has removed the episode or your access has expired, its old title is not a promise that you can download it again.
There is no need to look in Photos or Files for a Podcasts download you removed through this app. Those apps manage different content. Use the podcast’s available download controls for recovery rather than assuming their Recently Deleted areas contain this recording.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Removing Downloads Unfollow the Podcast?
Removing downloaded files and unfollowing are separate commands. If you want to stop following, open Library > Shows, open the show, tap its More button, and choose Unfollow. Apple’s current instructions say you may be offered a choice to keep or remove downloaded episodes, so read that choice before continuing.
Does Deleting Episodes Cancel a Paid Subscription?
No. Storage cleanup is different from managing payment for premium content. Apple says even unfollowing a show leaves its paid subscription active. Use the subscription management controls if your goal is to stop billing, rather than assuming removal of downloads or the app cancels it.
Can I Keep an Episode Saved Without an Offline Copy?
Review Download When Saving and turn it off if you prefer that behavior. Keep the saved entry and remove any existing downloaded file separately. This lets you organize episodes without treating every saved item as an offline listening choice.
Will Faster Playback Make the Downloaded File Smaller?
No. Changing podcast playback speed and skip controls changes how you listen and navigate. Use Remove Download to reclaim the offline file. Likewise, a sleep timer in Apple Podcasts stops playback rather than clearing storage.
Do I Need to Delete the Podcasts App?
Usually you can remove the unwanted episode files through Downloaded while keeping the app. Offloading retains documents and data; deleting the app is a broader removal. Try the specific download controls and automatic download preferences first if your goal is simply to reduce a backlog.
For a small cleanup, remove one episode and confirm the downloaded copy is gone. For a large backlog, use the show-level or all-downloads command, then review automatic downloads so your next listening session does not rebuild the same collection.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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