Welcome to AppStories+

AppStories is a podcast produced by MacStories and hosted by Federico Viticci, its Editor-in-Chief, and John Voorhees, its Managing Editor. Each week, the show explores the world of apps and the cultural impact they and Apple’s App Store have.

Since its launch in 2017, AppStories has been free and supported by advertising. AppStories+, fans of the show get a wide variety of exclusive perks that won’t be available to listeners of the free version.

Each episode of AppStories+ will include more of the show you love, with longer episodes that expand on weekly topics, explore additional apps we’re using, and cover of current app events and what’s happening at MacStories.

AppStories+ episodes are delivered ad-free a day earlier than the free version most weeks, allowing you to listen before everyone else or make sure you’re ready to start your week with the show. It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally we will be unable to release an episode early due to product review embargoes or similar constraints.

Also, AppStories+ is delivered at 192 kbps, which is higher than the bitrate of the free version. Both shows are distributed as MP3 files, so they are not lossless, but the AppStories+ version is noticeably better in quality than the free version, providing a superior listening experience.

There are several exclusive benefits to subscribing to AppStories+:

– Extended episodes. More of the show you love every single week, with extended versions of over 15 of our most recent episodes available at launch.
– Episodes are delivered a day early (with the very occasional exception of times when we are under a press embargo that dictates when we can release an episode).
– Ad-free. Enjoy AppStories uninterrupted by advertisements.
– High-bitrate audio. AppStories+ is delivered at 192 kbps for superior sound quality.

No. AppStories continues to be available for free as an ad-supported podcast but it does not include the perks described above.

First of all, thanks for being part of the Club already. You can subscribe to AppStories+ two ways:

First, you can upgrade to a Club Premier membership here, which is the best value we offer. Club MacStories+ is $10/month or $100/year. Club Premier adds AppStories+ to the mix for an additional $2/month or $20/year. That’s a great deal and better than you’ll find for most other weekly podcasts offering subscriptions.

To upgrade to Club Premier, visit //staging.macstories.net/club/plans.

Subscriptions to AppStories+ and Club MacStories are handled by the same Memberful system that handles the Club. If you only purchase an AppStories+ standalone subscription, you will not be charged for a Club one too. However, by being part of the Club system, if you ever decide you want to join Club MacStories, you can use your existing AppStories+ login details to upgrade from the Club plans page to take advantage of our upgrade pricing.

You can sign up for the Club Premier membership, which includes AppStories+, at //staging.macstories.net/club/plans.

If you’d prefer a standalone subscription to AppStories+, you can sign up on the AppStories website for $5/month or $50/year.

Yes. As long as you subscribe to AppStories+ through us (and not Apple Podcasts), you can join Club Premier at any time. Just visit our plans page, where you’ll see an option to upgrade to Club Premier.

Yes! The process works just like it does for Club MacStories, which we cover in this article.

Your AppStories+ subscription is unique to you and managed through Memberful and our system. When you sign up, you’ll be given links to add your subscription to the podcast player of your choice, including Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Castro, and Pocket Casts.

Yes. Subscriptions are handled with a Memberful integration, which supports HTTPS and is GDPR-compliant. Memberful uses Stripe to securely process payments.

Credit card data is sent securely to Stripe before the payment form is submitted. Memberful, and we never see your credit card data – only Stripe does. Stripe is PCI- and GDPR-compliant and secure. You can read the Memberful security FAQ here.

When you subscribe to AppStories+, you are assigned a feed to the show that includes a unique identifier. We monitor downloads from each feed issued to subscribers to ensure that feeds aren’t being shared with people who haven’t subscribed to the show. If we discover a pattern that indicates a feed is being used by someone who is not a subscriber, we reserve the right to revoke access to the feed and cancel your membership.

Send us an email at podcast@macstories.net, and we’ll respond as quickly as possible.

Yes. We are fully GDPR-compliant, and you can read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Absolutely not. We promise we won’t resell or share your email address with any third party. Your email address will only be used to deliver AppStories+-related communications.

The MacStories team: Federico Viticci and John Voorhees, the hosts of AppStories.

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, who’s been writing about Apple and apps since 2009. John Voorhees is a MacStories’ Managing Editor and co-host with Federico of the AppStories, MacStories Unwind, and NPC: Next Portable Console podcasts.

So, yes, we are people, MacStories is an indie website about Apple, AppStories+ is one of the podcasts we produce, and this is what we do every day with your support.

You can log into your AppStories+ account at macstories.memberful.com and cancel your subscription if you no longer wish to be a Club member or receive AppStories+.