Creating your podcast is a big thing in this age of the Internet. But in some cases, things do not go as planned, and if things go wrong, you might have to delete the entire podcast of yours or a particular episode from that podcast.
A podcast creator has to delete his content most of the time because of controversies or questions raised about the podcast’s content. If you find it difficult to delete a podcast, don’t worry.
We are here to help you with this issue. So, let’s get straight into the topic without wasting any further time.
The Difficulty of Deleting Things on the Internet
You can’t make something vanish from the Internet as it is a globally spread network and is present almost everywhere on this planet earth.
You can not erase your digital footprints no matter how hard you try. Here we are talking about how to delete a podcast.
The answer is if someone has already downloaded the whole podcast or a single episode of your podcast, you cannot do anything to make it unavailable.
They can upload the episode or the podcast even after deleting it from all the platforms. Here, we have presented a detailed description to help you delete the podcasts from the platform you uploaded them.
How to Delete a Podcast From the Internet
The process of deleting a podcast depends on the platform where you have published your content. Let us look at some of the popular options.
Audioboom
Audioboom is also an excellent platform for you to create your podcast. If you want to delete an episode or the entire podcast from existence, you can do it by following some easy steps.
But let us tell you that all these changes are irreversible, and you will not be able to access them by using your account. To do the needful, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open the ‘Audioboom’ application and log into your account.
- After that, go to the ‘Podcast settings.’
- After that, you will see the ‘Delete Podcast’ option at the bottom of your screen. Then click on that, or you can also select a particular episode of your podcast that you want to delete.
If you have made the podcast available on other platforms such as ‘Spotify,’ ‘Google Play’ and ‘Apple Podcasts,’ then a little time is required to reflect the changes you make.
After some time, the particular episode or the entire podcast will also become unavailable on those platforms.
Anchor
Suppose you have created a podcast using Anchor or by using the external platforms of Anchor available on iPhone and some of the android devices.
In that case, you can follow the steps mentioned below to delete your podcast. The process of deleting a complete podcast or a single episode differs depending on the device you are using.
If you are using the application on your mobile phone, follow the instructions given below to get the job done.
- Log into your account.
- At the bottom, you will see the Your Profile option. Click on that, and it will show you all the episodes you have created so far.
- Then select the episode that you wish to delete.
- After that, you need to click the ‘…’ sign that you can see on the top right corner of your mobile screen.
- You will find the option of ‘Delete.’ By clicking on that, the episode you have selected will be deleted.
If you are using Anchor on your desktop, you need to follow these steps to delete an episode or your entire podcast.
- Log into your existing account on Anchor.
- Find the ‘Anchor Dashboard’ on your desktop or laptop and click on that.
- A tab, ‘Episodes’, can be seen on the top of your screen. Click on that tab.
- After clicking on that tab, all the episodes will become visible to you, and therefore you need to tap on this ‘…’ icon to select the episode you want to delete.
- Finally, click on the ‘Delete episode’ option to delete the episode.
Within a day, you will be able to delete the episode from all the streaming platforms. This change will also be reflected on your device approximately in 24 hours.
Google Podcast
Removing a podcast from Google Podcasts platform takes time. Within 3 to 4 weeks, you will successfully remove an entire podcast from this platform.
- If you are using a podcast hosting service, you need to read the documentation given with the podcast to stop the show from serving the audience. If you cannot find any attached service documentation, go to the next point to find the answer to your question.
- On the other hand, if you manage the RSS feed all by yourself or fail to find any attached instructions on removing your show from Google, you can do either one of the following things.
Altogether remove the RSS feed or protect it with a password. If it does not work, you can use robots.txt or noindex to stop anyone from accessing your podcast.
The alternative way is to attach the following tag with your RSS feed to remove the podcast. <channel> element: <itunes:block>yes</ iTunes:block>
If you plan to remove only one episode from the entire podcast, then the procedure is slightly different. You can use any one of the following three ways.
- If you are using a podcast hosting service, you need to read the service documentation given with the podcast to stop the episode from airing.
- To get the job done relatively quickly (approximately within a week), you can remove the episode from your RSS feed of yours.
- If you add the following tag to your RSS feed, that particular episode of yours will become unavailable on Google Podcasts Platforms. It may be visible, but no one can stream it. Close to 4 weeks is required if you choose to follow this method. The tag is: <itunes:block>yes</itunes:block>
You can also ask Google to help with recrawling your feed. If you follow this method, it will take one or two days to show the result, and after that set period, the podcast will become unavailable for the listeners.
The episode will remain on their device if a listener has already downloaded it.
Apple Podcasts
Instead of deleting it, you can archive the content in Apple podcasts. The Apple podcast platform will remove it from its dashboard and Analytics when archiving the content.
Archiving it does not mean that you are deleting it, but you keep it as a draft that is not editable. Here, we discuss how to archive a complete podcast for a single podcast episode.
Deleting a Podcast
- Go to the dashboard of Apple podcast connect.
- Search for the show you want to delete, then click on ‘More Actions.’
- Under the tab, you will get the option of ‘Archive.’ Click on that, and it will deactivate all the active subscriptions of your podcast.
Deleting a Single Episode of a Podcast.
- Go to the dashboard of Apple podcast connect.
- Search for the show whose episode you want to delete.
- After that, click on the ‘Episodes’ tab.
- Select the particular episode that you want to delete.
- Then click on the ‘More Actions’ tab, and there you need to tap on the ‘Archive Episode’ option.
Episodes that might have been created using an RSS feed can not be archived. To make it unavailable, you can contact the third-party host you have collaborated with to create the podcast.
Is It Truly Gone?
Now that you understand how to remove a podcast from existence, the next question that might be coming to your mind is, is it truly gone forever, or can you restore it?
In most cases, deleting a podcast is an irreversible change that you cannot undo. It depends on the platform that you are using.
In Apple podcasts, the deleted podcast or episode will get archived instead of deleted, so you can restore it anytime you want. For other platforms, it may not always be possible.
Can You Restore Deleted Podcasts?
As previously mentioned, only in the Apple Podcasts platform can we get back a deleted (archived) podcast or an episode? To reverse the process, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Go to the ‘Podcasts Library’ or ‘Shows.’
- Select the show that you want to restore.
- Scroll down to the page where you will see two options highlighted in purple, a) Available Episodes and b) Previously Played.
- Click on the ‘Previously Played’ option as this is a much easier way than the path where you need to go through the ‘Available Episodes’ option.
- A ‘+’ sign will appear on the right corner of the episode. Tap on that.
- To finally download the episode, click on the sign with a cloud and an arrow.
- After downloading, the episode will reappear on ‘My Episodes”. There is only one clause that the episode needs to be still available for download.
Final Words
As we have reached the end of this guide, we hope you have a better idea of deleting a podcast. Follow the above steps to create or stream your podcast depending on your platform.
We have discussed the most used podcast-making and streaming platforms to get you started.
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