Podhoc FAQ — Discover, Credits, Embeds, Privacy
Everything you need to know about Podhoc Discover: preview audio, credit costs for listening and downloading, embed grants for podcast owners.
Discover, credits, embeds, privacy — everything in one place
This page is the customer-facing FAQ for Podhoc Discover. It covers the new credit matrix introduced with the Discover preview + embed overhaul (2026-05-18), the embed-grant ownership model, the 30-second preview behaviour for anonymous listeners, and the playback-completion tracking we use for aggregate analytics.
The pages this FAQ links to are the authoritative sources — the Pricing page holds the full credit matrix, the Terms hold the legal grandfathering and playback-tracking clauses, and the Embed documentation walks through how to generate an embed snippet for one of your own podcasts.
Credits — listening and downloading
How many credits does it cost to listen to a Discover podcast?
| Your tier | Credits per full listen | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 5 | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| CREATOR | 2 | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| PRO | 2 | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| You own the podcast — any tier | 0 | 0 credits on Free, Creator and Pro |
Anonymous and signed-out visitors always hear a 30-second preview free; the credits only apply once a signed-in user opts into the full listen.
How many credits does it cost to download a Discover podcast?
Sign in to download. Downloading your own podcast costs 0 credits on every tier, including Free. For another creator’s podcast, the standard download cost is 10 credits on Creator or Pro; downloads are not available on Free. Accounts that retain grandfathered pricing have the separate rates described below.
| Your tier | Credits per download | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Not available | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| CREATOR | 10 | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| PRO | 10 | Another creator’s podcast; standard rate |
| You own the podcast — any tier | 0 | 0 credits on Free, Creator and Pro |
See the Pricing page for the full matrix and rationale.
Preview vs. full audio
What is the preview audio I hear when I am not signed in?
It is a 30-second clip generated automatically when the podcast first goes public on Discover. The preview is always free, requires no account, and is the same clip every visitor hears — there is no degraded or watermarked variant. Press play, decide if the podcast is worth your time, and sign in to listen to the full episode (credits applied per your tier).
Can anonymous listeners play the full podcast?
No. Anonymous listeners only hear the 30-second preview. To listen to a full episode they must sign in to a Podhoc account, and credits are debited per the tier matrix above. The preview is fully free and requires no account.
Embeds — owner-only
Can I embed any Podhoc podcast on my site?
No. You can only generate an embed snippet for podcasts you own, because embed grants are tied to the podcast author. The Embed button is server-gated against the podcast owner_id; on Discover detail pages for podcasts you did not author, the Embed CTA is hidden. This keeps the embed grant attached to the author for analytics, takedowns, and revenue attribution.
Listen plays from your embeds are absorbed by Podhoc and do not consume listener credits. See the embed documentation for the step-by-step on generating and pasting an embed snippet.
Grandfathered pricing
What does grandfathered pricing mean?
These rates apply only while your account retains grandfathered pricing eligibility; a past subscription alone does not establish eligibility. For another creator’s podcast, Free costs 1 credit per full listen and does not allow downloads; Creator and Pro cost 0 credits for both listening and downloading. Your own podcasts cost 0 credits for both actions on every tier, with or without grandfathered pricing.
Playback tracking and privacy
What playback data does Podhoc record?
For every podcast played on Discover, the embed widget, or the Podhoc mobile and web apps, Podhoc records a playback completion event at the earlier of:
- the listener reaching the end of the audio, or
- the listener reaching 90% of the audio duration.
The event captures the podcast identifier, the playback surface (discover, embed, share, mobile, webapp), the mode (preview or full), the completion percentage and position in seconds, the user identifier (NULL for anonymous listeners), and the embed-grant identifier when the surface is embed.
Completion events for anonymous listeners are stored as fully anonymous aggregate signal — they are not later joined to any identifier. Completion events for signed-in listeners are governed by the Privacy Policy as personal data; you can request export or deletion at any time. See Terms §8b for the full disclosure.
Related
- Pricing — credit packs and subscription tiers with the full Discover credit matrix.
- Terms — legal text for the grandfathering policy and playback-completion tracking.
- Embed documentation — step-by-step on generating an embed snippet for your own podcasts.
- Privacy — what we log, how long we keep it, and how to exercise your data rights.
Frequently asked questions
- How many credits does it cost to listen to a Discover podcast?
- For another creator’s podcast, the standard cost per full listen is 5 credits on Free and 2 on Creator or Pro. Your own podcasts cost 0 credits to listen to on every tier. The 30-second preview is free for everyone. Accounts that retain grandfathered pricing have the separate rates described below.
- How many credits does it cost to download a Discover podcast?
- Sign in to download. Downloading your own podcast costs 0 credits on every tier, including Free. For another creator’s podcast, the standard download cost is 10 credits on Creator or Pro; downloads are not available on Free. Accounts that retain grandfathered pricing have the separate rates described below.
- What is the preview audio I hear when I am not signed in?
- It is a 30-second clip of the podcast generated automatically when the podcast first goes public on Discover. The preview is always free, requires no account, and is the same preview anyone hears — there is no degraded or watermarked variant. Press play, decide, and sign in to listen to the full episode.
- What does grandfathered pricing mean?
- These rates apply only while your account retains grandfathered pricing eligibility; a past subscription alone does not establish eligibility. For another creator’s podcast, Free costs 1 credit per full listen and does not allow downloads; Creator and Pro cost 0 credits for both listening and downloading. Your own podcasts cost 0 credits for both actions on every tier, with or without grandfathered pricing.
- Can I embed any Podhoc podcast on my site?
- No. You can only generate an embed snippet for podcasts you own, because embed grants are tied to the podcast author. The Embed button is server-gated against the podcast owner_id; on Discover detail pages for podcasts you did not author, the Embed CTA is hidden. Listen plays from embeds are absorbed by Podhoc and do not consume listener credits.
- What playback data does Podhoc record?
- For every podcast played on Discover, the embed widget, or the mobile/web apps, Podhoc records a playback completion event at the earlier of the listener pressing through to the end OR reaching 90% of the audio. The event captures the podcast id, the playback surface, the mode (preview or full), the completion percentage, and the user id (NULL for anonymous listeners). Completion events are used for aggregate analytics, creator insights, and anomaly detection. See the Terms for the full disclosure.
- Can anonymous listeners play the full podcast?
- Anonymous listeners only hear the 30-second preview. To listen to a full episode they must sign in to a Podhoc account, and credits are debited per the tier matrix above. The preview is fully free and requires no account.
- Are downloads available on Free tier?
- Yes, for your own podcasts: sign in and download them for 0 credits on Free. Downloading another creator’s podcast requires Creator or Pro. Grandfathered pricing does not remove that Free-tier restriction.