How do I delete "Documents and Data" in podcast on my Iphone 5? I know how to delete individual podcast and podcast episodes, but won't allow me to delete the "Docs and Data". I have limited space on my phone and it's taking up an increasing amount.

I'm having the same issue. I'm going to dump podcasts into the extras folder with all the other Apple apps I'll never use and switch to Stitcher. Problem solved!

If only that deleted the app completely. There seems to be no way to just clear those files.

I Just realized I have this problem, too, but on my iPad2 and not on my iPhone6. I was debugging a Podcast issue with iOS9 on both and started to delete podcasts in an effort to see if it would help.

I was able to delete individual podcast channels, but it moved the size of the files to a place called documents and data.

I am about to reset my iPad, but will try yo do an iTunes backup and restore first to see if that magically frees up the phantom 1.4GB of space.

Progress... i went into iTunes on my Mac and connected my device. I selected my device and then was able to see my device details. On both my iPad and my iPhone, I had an old movie rental that was hogging up >3GB of video data. I clicked on that rental, then clicked on Sync for the device that was still connected to my Mac, and that somehow refreshed my iPhone to now recognize that that rental had expired. Once it told me that via a pop up, it freed up that space again.

I could also see in iTunes that I was subscribed to several Podcasts that I no longer listen to, so I deleted those and re-synced.

I did this for both devices and my iPad Podcast functionality is reviving to the point where I can re-download some podcasts, likely because freeing up that 3GB makes the phantom 1GB in Documents & Storage not as impactful.

I created fresh backups to iTunes on my Mac as the last backup I had there was very old.

I still had that phantom "Documents & Data" using up almost 2GB of spac, and the only thing that worked to clear it was to delete the iPad altogether and restore from the backup.

So, to be clear, you're using iOS 9 and the Podcasts Documents & Data issue is still there? Ugh.

Apple sent me an email in response to my bug report asking me to test on iOS 9 because they believed the issue was fixed. I haven't had a chance to upgrade yet so I don't know, but if what you say is correct, I guess they're wrong.

After upgrading to i OS 8 "Documents and Data" had been disappeared, but it could be re-activated and I could shrink iCloud space needed.

Now, after upgrading to i OS 9 "Documents and Data" had disappeared again - but now it can NOT be re-activated, so Apple Support told me.

I need much more space on iCloud, because I had to activate iCloud Drive.

I am disgusted and angry.

Same problem with an iPhone 5 and iOS9.0.2. "Documents & Data" for Podcasts is taking up 2.5GB and growing. Has anyone chanced upon a solution that doesn't involve entirely resetting my phone for the third or fourth time in the past couple of months?

I finally got around to updating to iOS 9 (9.1), and I can report that, unfortunately, the bug is STILL there, symptoms completely unchanged from before. Apple decided to mark my bug report 'closed' and bald-faced lie that the issue had been 'addressed', though. Thanks for that.

Has anyone made progress on this issue? I entirely stopped using the Podcasts app a couple of weeks ago - I erased all the episodes (both within the app and within the "Manage Storage" section buried in Settings) and turned off all subscriptions. There's been no activity in that app since then. Documents & Data has dropped from 3.0GB all the way down to 2.8GB. Today I restored from a backup and that didn't change anything (well, except for once again messing up photo syncing, but that's another story) - still 2.8GB.

Before I embark on a long day: has resetting the iPhone actually cleared this for people? There's got to be another way, but before I try what should be a last resort, I'd like to at least have confirmation it's worked for someone.

Did resetting work for you? Has anyone come up with a solution to this problem yet? Thanks

"Resetting" (as defined by Apple) doesn't work. Wiping the device and restoring from a backup is the only thing that does (for a while). I actually don't have this problem on my iPhone - I have it on my iPad! I have podcasts on both devices, kept in sync. I currently have 1GB of actual podcasts on both devices, with about 70mb of docs and data on the iPhone, but nearly 800mb on the iPad. This would seem to negate the theory that the rising docs and data is made up of deleted podcasts.

Yes, I've solved the problem for my device. What worked for me: (1) Plug the iPhone in to the computer. (2) Go to the iPhone tab in iTunes. (3) "Back Up Now." (4) Select "Restore iPhone", sort of in the top right corner. (5) You'll get another option - I forget the exact wording, but it's something like "factory reset" and "restore from backup". Select "Restore from Backup." And wait, and wait, and wait, while everything gets wiped and recopied. That fixed my problem. My Documents & Data usage for the Podcasts app is now 25.0MB.

Note that because I restored from a backup, I didn't need to reinstall apps or reenter passwords or any of that other hassle that comes with a full factory reset, so although the restore took time, I didn't need to do much.

Caveats:

1) Don't use the Podcasts app anymore. I did a factory reset back in the summer, and that also wiped out the Documents & Data usage, but within a couple of months it was up to 3.0GB again. I suspect that if you continue to use Apple's Podcast app and already have this problem, this memory bloat is inevitable, and you may give yourself a few weeks of freedom, but it'll come back. I now use Overcast, which I highly recommend as long as you use only audio podcasts, and listen only on iOS devices. (If you need to sync with your computer, I don't know what to suggest, and can only wish you good luck! I gave up on that years ago.)

2) Don't select the "Restore Backup" option that appears in the middle of the iPhone sync page in iTunes. I did that one before, and it didn't work for me. I don't understand why choosing "Restore iPhone" first and then "Restore from Backup" is different from simply "Restore Backup", but so be it.

TThank you for that, I am just in the middle of doing same. However in typical Apple (or possibly me) style, it is now not accepting my normal always used for the account password and it's like a new phone - can't get a restore back up from iCloud. I'm sure I will fix/find the password eventually. !! Thanks for replying

Thanks Lost. I was happy to have found your solution, and gave it a try. I ended up with the same number of MB after the restore, so it didn't work for me. So frustrated that this data must sit on my phone. I agree that the stock Podcasts app should not be used until Apple wakes up to what should be an obvious issue. I'll give Overcast a try.

Had the same problem. In the first 3 months of a new iPhone 6s Plus the phantom podcast storage went up to 3.8GB. That’s more than 1GB lost storage —per month! The only remedy was a restore and not touching the Podcast app again. (I’m using Downcast since then, after a short affair with Overcast.)

Has anybody tested if the bug is still there with iOS 9.3.1?