How to stop Apple Podcasts from auto-playing the next episode

Learn how to stop the Apple Podcasts app on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV from automatically playing the next episode of a show after the current one ends.

Nothing Playing Next in Podcasts app on iPhone

The Podcasts app has a handy continuous playback option that is enabled by default. What this does is that it advances to the next episode from the same show after the one you’re currently listening to ends. This behavior is fine if all you want is to catch up on your favorite podcast.

But if you’d rather listen to specific episodes without having to worry about excess cellular data usage or prefer to manually advance to the next episode, consider turning this feature off.

Switch off continuous playback in the Apple Podcasts app

Follow these steps individually on every device where you want to stop auto-playing the next episode of a show.

On iOS

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Scroll down and tap Podcasts.
  3. Turn off the switch for Continuous Playback.
Turn off Continuous Playback for Podcasts on iPhone

When this option is turned off, the app will not automatically advance to the next episode from the same show when the episode you’re currently listening to ends.

On Mac

  1. Open the Podcasts app on your Mac.
  2. Click Podcasts next to the Apple icon  from the top left corner of the screen and select Settings.
  3. Go to the Playback tab.
  4. Select “Stop when an episode ends” for Continuous Playback instead of “Continue playing after an episode ends.”
Stop when an episode ends in Podcasts on Mac

On Apple TV

  1. Go inside the Settings app on your Apple TV.
  2. Select Apps.
  3. Now, go to Podcasts to manage its settings.
  4. Set Continuous Playback to Off instead of On.

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