Longtime podcast app Castro has been shut down on iOS since Friday and its website no longer exists, a month after the team behind Castro denied rumors that the app was being shut down. Users began reporting on Friday that they were unable to download new episodes or access Castro’s website. when the edge After we contacted the contacts listed on Castro’s website, all of our emails were returned as undeliverable because the domain could not be found.
The Friday Reddit post is full of responses from people unable to use important parts of the app, and recent reviews from its listing on the iOS App Store tell the same story. When we downloaded the app to check, we couldn’t connect to Castro’s servers to find shows to listen to.
The app has clearly been down since at least November, when the app was down for a few days due to a database issue that turned out to be more complex than the team initially expected. That same month, some outlets and blogs reported that Castro’s closure was imminent, but Castro was able to restart the service.
Shortly thereafter, the team posted on X (formerly Twitter) that any communications regarding its impending demise were “unofficial.” The post linked to a blog dated December 1st that can no longer be accessed directly as its site is now down.
An archived version of the post denied reports that Castro was closing its doors, but admitted that the company is “looking for a new home for Castro with new owners” after an unspecified number of employees left. One such rumor came from a former member of Castro’s team, Mohit Mamoria, who… to publish on November 27 that the app “will be shut down within the next two months.”
the edge She reached out to Castro’s parent company Tiny, but had not received a response by press time.