Introducing Anytime podcast app and seeking VoiceOver feedback

By Ben Hills, 10 April, 2024

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi everyone,

I have developed a free and open source podcast app, called Anytime Podcast Player, which is available for iOS and Android. I've been working on improving accessibility within the app and particularly the screen reader support, but I know there is more improvements to be made and I was recommended this forum - thank you Robert.

I would be very grateful for any feedback, tips or suggestions that can help me improve the accessibility in Anytime and make it a better app if anyone would like to try it.

It's available on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/anytime-podcast-player/id1582300839#?platform=iphone

Many thanks,

Ben.

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Comments

By Kroni on Sunday, February 1, 2026 - 13:53

After a long time, I wanted to try this app again, and I have to say I really like it now. However, I still have the same problem as before: when I start a podcast, the player doesn't go into full-screen mode. I still have to do it manually, even though I've enabled it in the settings. Regarding fast-forwarding and rewinding, it would be nice if you could, for example, skip forward or backward a minute. Also, when swiping up or down on the playback time, you can only skip forward or backward by 10 seconds. So, it would be great if there were more options in this regard. Since I haven't been satisfied with Overcast for a long time, I think this podcast player might be my first choice now. (Note: My message was translated by Google; I hope it's understandable.)

By Ben Hills on Sunday, February 1, 2026 - 21:02

Hi Kroni,

Thanks for giving Anytime another try and for your feedback.

I have reproduced the problem with the full screen option, and I can see what is happening. I will fix this for the next release.

I'll look into the forward, rewind and the slider options. 10 second increments on the slider probably isn't very helpful. I've just compared it to Apple Podcasts and that jumps in 3 minute increments.

Thanks.

By Troy B on Sunday, February 1, 2026 - 21:41

I made the changes you suggested and along with the other things that I already knew about I think this is going to make it much easier to keep up with new episodes.

I'm not usually much of a podcast listener, I mostly listen to podcasts dealing with my favorite major league baseball team and even then I mostly listen during the off season, but I already much prefer anytime to the native iOS app and the way you keep improving anytime I'm liking it more and more so keep up the good work.

By Kroni on Monday, February 2, 2026 - 08:50

Hi Ben, I have a question about the layout. In the settings, it says "Highlights of new episodes." What exactly does this setting do? As a VoiceOver user, I don't see any difference when I enable or disable it.

Another suggestion: I personally would like it if the main overview displayed the titles of all unplayed episodes of every podcast. That way, I could immediately see if a particular episode interests me and I want to listen to it, or if not, I could mark it as played.

By Ben Hills on Monday, February 2, 2026 - 10:48

Hi Kroni,

The 'Highlight new episodes' option marks podcasts in your library that have new episodes since Anytime last did a fetch. As you move over each podcast in your library, VoiceOver will read the title, followed by the number of new episodes (if there are any).

A few people have asked for an episode view across all podcasts, so it is on my list to look in to. There are several ways I could do this, and I am thinking over the options. Thanks.

By Kroni on Monday, February 2, 2026 - 14:00

Hi Ben, thanks for your reply. One more thing: I generally like to support developers who want to make their apps accessible to blind people. Therefore, it would be great if there was an option to donate within the app.

By Ben Hills on Monday, February 2, 2026 - 19:24

Thanks Kroni, I appreciate that.

A few people have asked me to add a donate button, but unfortunately doing so can get an app rejected from the stores as it essentially bypasses their payment system. Some apps seem to get by, but I know of several others that have been kicked out or have had their updates rejected due to adding a donate link. It's a shame, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and not add a link.

By Kroni on Monday, February 2, 2026 - 20:35

Hi Ben, couldn't you arrange it via an in-app purchase?

By Roaratron on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 00:57

will episode notifications come to Anytime? Also, as a previous poster said, you can add a tip jar as an in-app purchase in the app store.

By Ben Hills on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 13:07

I'll take another look into the rules, but adding in-app purchases would change Anytime to a paid for app. This means that on the store listings, the developer's registered address and telephone number would be displayed. As an individual developer, and not a company, this would be my home address and telephone number.

AntennaPod, a popular open source podcast player on Android, has a contribute button. This opens a web page with ways to help the project, including donating, so I might look to see if I can do that. I do have a ko-fi page and it would be nice to have a way to make it more visible.

By Ben Hills on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 13:08

Yes, Roaratron, notifications will definitely be coming. This will be included as part of adding support for per-podcast settings, which I will hopefully begin soon.