The main menu looks like this ☰ and appears at the upper left of all screens. It links to wherever’s various pages. Click or tap this menu to toggle it on and off.
Wherever supports the following touch gestures.
| Gesture | Action |
|---|---|
| Swipe left, right | Navigate to the next or previous page |
| Swipe up, down | Display the next or previous batch of episodes in the current episode list |
| Tap on episode | View more information about that episode |
| Long-press the play button | Add episode to Queue |
| Double-tap on Now Playing | Skip forward (right side of page) or backward (left side of page) |
Note that unlike social apps, swipe up/down is paginated and not a continuous scroll. Each swipe advances or backs up by 4 episodes.
Wherever supports the following keyboard shortcuts.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| space | Start/stop audio playback |
| l | Navigate to the next screen |
| h | Navigate to the previous screen |
| j | Display the next batch of episodes in the current feed |
| k | Display the previous batch of episodes in the current feed |
| m | Toggle the main menu on or off |
| ArrowRight | Skip ahead 30s (while playback is active) |
| ArrowLeft | Skip back 10s (while playback is active) |
| Cmd/Ctrl-k | Search |
Search for podcasts using the Search page, reachable from the main menu or at wherever.audio/search.
Search is powered by The Podcast Index. Wherever refreshes its copy of the index once a week.
If you can’t find the podcast you’re looking for in Search, but you know the feed url, you can import it as described below.
If you don’t know what to listen to and want some suggestions, check the Quick Picks section, reachable from the main menu or at wherever.audio/marquee.
This section features a rotating set of composite feeds built from the latest episodes in popular podcasts. To get more from a specific podcast, tap or click on the podcast name, which appears below the episode image and is highlighted in either purple (dark theme) or maroon (light theme).
Quick Pick feeds update a few times a day, so if you circle back every so often you’ll see fresh episodes.
If you don’t find the feed you’re looking for in Search, or already have the feed link (e.g. for a private or paid subscription), visit the Import/Export section at wherever.audio/import-export and add it using Add Show by RSS URL.
If you’re coming from another podcast player that supports export, visit the Import/Export section at wherever.audio/import-export and add the import using Import Shows from OPML file.
Publicly posted subscription lists, such as Podnews.net’s round-up of Apple Podcasts top shows for 2024 ( about ), can be imported by URL. Visit the Import/Export section at wherever.audio/import-export and add the list using Import Shows from OPML URL. Once loaded, you’ll have the option to toggle individual podcasts in the list on or off.
When audio is playing, Wherever displays a set of playback controls at the bottom of the page.
When displaying episode information, Wherever puts a play or pause button next to that episode – a pause button if the episode is currently playing and a play button otherwise.
Seek, playback speed, and other aspects of playback are controllable on the Playback page, reachable from the main menu or by tapping on the ⌃ symbol at the right of the playback controls.
To see new episodes from a show on the New Episodes page, click Follow on the overview page for that show. You can reach the Show page by clicking on the show title that appears just under the episode information, in either purple (dark theme) or maroon (light theme).
Wherever stores a local copy of followed feeds, and automically refreshes it once an hour while you’re using it (the interval is configurable in Settings).
A refresh can be initiated manually by tapping the 🔄 symbol at the upper right of all pages. On the episode list for a follwed show, a refresh is performed for that show. On other pages, a refresh is performed for all followed shows.