Getting started
What is Lingoreel?
An iPhone app for learning languages from real podcasts. Play any show, follow along sentence by sentence with a translation in your own language, and ask about anything you didn't catch. It's also handy if you just want to understand a podcast in another language.
How do I get it?
Download it free from the App Store. It needs an iPhone with iOS 17 or later; Apple Watch, CarPlay and the Apple TV app (tvOS 18 or later) come with it. Pro and subtitle credits are optional in-app purchases.
Do I need an account?
No. On the welcome screen you can choose to just listen and use Lingoreel as a free podcast player: browse and search, follow shows, read transcripts that already exist and see new episodes in Most Recent. Your library stays on your iPhone.
Create a free account (email or Sign in with Apple) when you want to ask questions, request new subtitles, look up and save words, review, get a daily plan, import shows and keep your progress when you change phones.
Which languages can I learn?
Whatever language the podcast is in. The catalog focuses on the most popular ones (English, Japanese, Spanish, French, Korean and German), and you can import shows in other languages too. Translations, explanations and answers come in the language you choose as your own.
Listening & asking
How does asking while listening work?
Put on your AirPods (or any headphones with controls) and play an episode. When something confuses you, squeeze the stem: the podcast pauses and Lingoreel starts listening. Say your question, for example “What does that word mean?”, then squeeze again. You'll hear the answer in your own language, and the episode carries on a few seconds later. No headphones? Tap Ask in the player instead.
What are the three transcript modes?
Bilingual shows each sentence with its translation. Original only hides the translation so you read what you hear. Blind listening hides the text completely so you train your ears. Switch at any time at the top of the player.
Why doesn't this episode have a transcript yet?
We make subtitles (the transcript and its translation) on our own servers from the episode's public audio, when someone asks for them. Subtitles that already exist are free for everyone, even without an account.
To have new ones made, ask on the episode page or in the player. A free account includes 3 new subtitle requests a month; Pro includes 20 a month and has them made first. Beyond that, you can use subtitle credits. If someone has already asked for the episode, asking too costs nothing, and we'll let you know when it's ready.
How do I import a show I already listen to?
In Discover, tap Import and paste a share link from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castbox or Amazon Music, or paste the show's RSS feed URL. Spotify exclusives can't be imported because they aren't published anywhere else. Importing needs a free account.
How do I get notified about new episodes?
Follow a show, then tap the bell on its page. You can turn alerts on or off for each show separately, and Most Recent always lists the newest episodes from everything you follow. You can also turn Lingoreel notifications off entirely in your iPhone's Settings › Notifications.
Can I listen offline?
Yes, with Pro. Download episodes from the player or the episode page and manage them under Me › Offline downloads. Downloads are stored only on your iPhone and aren't included in iCloud backups.
How does the Apple Watch app work?
If Lingoreel isn't on your watch yet, install it from the Watch app on your iPhone. While you listen, the watch shows the current sentence and its translation, lets you ask from your wrist, and lets you go through review cards. With Pro, episodes sync to your watch automatically, so you can leave your phone at home and listen with Bluetooth headphones paired to the watch. Settings are under Me › Apple Watch.
Does Lingoreel work with CarPlay?
Yes. Connect your iPhone and open Lingoreel on the car's screen: Today, Following and Discover are there, and Now Playing has buttons for speed, replaying the sentence and asking a question by voice. Allow the microphone and speech recognition on your iPhone first (open Lingoreel and tap Ask once), because the car can't show those prompts.
Is there an Apple TV app?
Yes, and it comes free with Lingoreel for iPhone. You need an Apple TV with tvOS 18 or later. Sign in with Apple or email, or just browse. The player shows the current sentence large with its translation; use the Siri Remote for previous and next sentence, sentence loop, subtitle mode and speed. Your shows, today's clips and progress sync with your iPhone.
Pro & billing
What do I get with Pro?
Unlimited questions while you listen, 20 new subtitle requests a month that are made first, read-aloud in a natural voice, offline downloads, Apple Watch sync for phone-free listening and your full report history. Free gives you the podcast player, every subtitle that already exists and Most Recent; with a free account you also get 3 new subtitle requests a month, a few questions a day and a little read-aloud in a natural voice each day (after that, your iPhone's own voice reads).
How much does Pro cost?
Pro is available monthly or yearly. The App Store shows the current price in your local currency before you subscribe. The yearly plan starts with a one-week free trial.
What are subtitle credits?
Credits make new subtitles once your monthly requests run out, with or without Pro. They're one-off in-app purchases: 10 credits for US$2.99 or 30 credits for US$6.99 (the App Store shows the price in your local currency). One credit makes subtitles for a new episode up to 90 minutes long; longer episodes take 2 credits. On the free plan, 1 more credit has yours made first.
If someone has already asked for an episode, asking too costs nothing. If the subtitles can't be made, you get the credits (or the monthly request) back. Credits belong to your Lingoreel account: they don't expire, can't be transferred and are lost if you delete your account. Buy them in Me › Your credits.
How do I cancel or change my subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple. On your iPhone, open Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions, choose Lingoreel and change or cancel it there. Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date to avoid being charged for the next period. Deleting the app or your Lingoreel account does not cancel the subscription.
How do I restore my purchase on a new iPhone?
Make sure you're signed in to the App Store with the same Apple Account you subscribed with, open the Pro page in Lingoreel and tap Restore purchases. Subtitle credits don't need restoring: they belong to your Lingoreel account, so just sign in to it.
Can I get a refund?
Payments for Pro and subtitle credits go through Apple, so Apple handles refunds; we can't issue them ourselves. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. If a credit purchase is refunded, its credits are taken back.
Account & privacy
How do I delete my account?
In the app, go to Me › Privacy & data › Delete account. This permanently deletes your account, all your learning records and any unused subtitle credits from our servers. It does not cancel a Pro subscription; do that in your Apple Account settings. If you can't get into the app, email support@lingoreel.com from the address on your account.
I forgot my password.
On the sign-in screen, tap Forgot password? and we'll email you a code to set a new one. If you signed up with Apple, just use Sign in with Apple again.
What data do you keep about me?
Only what's needed to run your account and sync your learning. No ads, no tracking and no third-party analytics. When you ask by voice, only the text of your question reaches us. The full details are in our Privacy Policy.
Your show stays yours.
Lingoreel is a podcast player for language learners. Here's how it uses your show, and how to have it removed if you'd rather it weren't in the app.
How Lingoreel uses your show
Played from your feed
Audio and artwork are streamed or downloaded straight from your own servers through your public RSS feed. We don't re-host your audio, and episodes downloaded for offline listening stay on the listener's device.
Subtitles on request
When a signed-in listener asks for it, our servers transcribe an episode with speech recognition and translate it with an AI model, to show sentence-by-sentence subtitles in the app.
Only inside the app
Transcripts and translations are for personal, non-commercial language learning. They aren't published on the web, aren't sold and aren't available outside the app.
Always credited
Your show's page in the app always shows its name, artwork and author, and listening always goes through your original feed.
Want your show removed?
Email us
Write to support@lingoreel.com with the show's name or a link to it.
Show it's yours
Include proof that you own it: for example, write from the owner email address in your feed, or send a confirmation from your hosting platform.
We take it down
Once we've verified it, we remove the show from the catalog and search, delete all transcripts and translations of its episodes and block it from being added again.
Just have a question, or want us to change how your show is credited? Write to support@lingoreel.com as well. The legal details are in our Terms of Service.
Write to us.
Tell us your iPhone model, iOS version and the Lingoreel version (Me › About) so we can help faster. For privacy requests, write from the email address on your account.