Can You Rate Podcasts Anonymously? (We Checked)

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, with many podcast hosts growing their own dedicated communities of listeners.

To offer support or some criticism for your favorite podcast episodes, listeners can rate and review podcasts from certain platforms.

This article will fill you in on how you, as a listener, can anonymously rate your favorite or, in some cases, your least favorite podcast episode.

Here’s How to Rate Podcasts Anonymously:

Podcast listeners have the option to change their platform nicknames to remain anonymous, ensuring no personal information is shown in positive or negative ratings. Star ratings are often anonymous. You can rate anonymously on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podchaser, and more.

What Podcast Platforms will Let you Rate Anonymously?

There can be reasons why podcast listeners would want to remain anonymous when submitting a rating or review on a podcast.

It could be that they choose to remain private, with no personal information about them revealed, or that they have a negative review to share and do not want people to know who it is from.

Podcasts can often be rated and reviewed anonymously regardless of how positive or negative a review or rating is.

In the case where a reviewer wants to remain anonymous for any reason, some podcast platforms will allow you to submit ratings/reviews anonymously.

Some of these most popular podcast platforms include the following:

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify Podcasts
• Podchaser
• Acast
• Podcast Guru
• Stitcher
• Goodpods

For Spotify podcast listeners, ratings will remain anonymous, allowing one to five stars per listener.

When it comes to Apple Podcasts, podcast listeners can leave both ratings and reviews for their favorite podcasts.

A listener can rate a specific podcast by rating it from one to five stars and leaving a review along with it, should they wish.

When you leave a star rating on a particular Apple podcast, your name will often not be displayed, making you anonymous.

In the case of a written review, however, your Apple nickname will show.

Should you have concerns about your nickname being revealed along with a critical review, you can certainly change your Apple nickname on a computer but not an iOS device.

We’ve got the steps on how to do this further down in the article.

What Podcast Platform is Most Used for Reviews?

If you are looking for a podcast platform that will allow you to be more engaging in offering some feedback on certain podcast episodes that you liked or did not like, Apple Podcasts will be your go-to.

Reviews are done in the form of written text. A review will have a title and description and will show under the average star rating with your chosen nickname.

Apple Podcasts, formerly known as iTunes, seem to still be at the top of the list when it comes to most reviewed podcasts.

Other popular podcast platforms like Spotify and Acast will only still allow ratings alone.

Apple Podcasts, amongst others, gives listeners the opportunity to voice anything on their podcast episode experience through positive and negative reviews.

Apple Podcasts also seem to be the only platform mostly used for direct reviews, while the Castbox platform offers a ‘write comments’ option that acts similarly to reviews.

It is important to note that while Apple Podcasts is the podcast platform mostly used for reviews, others like Podchaser, Stitcher, and Castbox follow quite closely behind.

What Personal Information is Shown with Reviews?

Depending on the platform you are using, leaving a review will either contain some form of information on you or not.

This information does not necessarily need to be your correct personal information but rather your chosen nicknames for a specific platform.

With some podcast platforms mentioned in this article, you will remember that it is possible to submit ratings and reviews as completely anonymous or with a creative nickname.

This means that no personal information about you is shared in your review, and no one will know who you are unless you choose to use your real name or original Apple nickname as a nickname.

The following steps will help you change your nickname from a MAC PC or Windows PC to remain anonymous:

Mac users:

1. Go to the ‘MacOS App Store’
2. Click on your ‘name’
3. Log into your Apple ID if asked to.
4. Select ‘View Information’ located on the top right of your account page.
5. Navigate down and click on ‘Manage’
6. You will then be able to modify your nickname to what you prefer.

Windows users:

1. Go to ‘appleid.apple.com’ to open your Apple account.
2. Choose ‘View My Account’
3. Sign in with your Apple ID when asked to.
4. Navigate to ‘Settings’
5. Tap the ‘Edit’ button to change your nickname.

Sticher is another platform that allows listeners to change their nickname allowing them to remain anonymous. 

This can be done by following these steps:

1. On the Stitcher App, go to the podcast episode you would like to rate.
2. Navigate down to ‘Write a Review’
3. Give your rating from one to five stars.
4. Fill in your nickname of choice along with the Review Title, Description, and your email, which will remain private.

Can you Leave Negative Reviews Anonymously?

As long as there are podcast platforms that allow anonymous ratings and reviews, it will be possible to leave negative reviews anonymously.

Since ratings and reviews are often anonymous, it makes it easy for podcast listeners to express themselves both positively and negatively.

Personal information is not shared with anonymous ratings/reviews on some podcast platforms,  so it is safe to say negative reviews can be submitted anonymously.

Remember, there are several ways to see how popular a podcast is.

Can you Leave a Star Rating Without Text?

When it comes to rating a podcast, ratings will be given in stars from one to five, one being bad and five being excellent/best.

It is definitely possible to leave a star rating alone without the need to add text in the form of a review or comment.

This is because some podcast platforms will only have the option to give star ratings only.

This is especially true in the case of platforms like Apple Podcasts that allow the option to submit only a star rating and not necessarily a review along with it.

Other platforms like Spotify, Acast, and others will also have the option to submit only a star rating without accompanying text in the form of a review/comment.

Sources

What Podcast Apps Allow Ratings And Reviews?

How To Rate and Review A Podcast

How Ratings and Reviews Work On Apple Podcasts