What you need
- An iPad with iPadOS 18 or later, or an iPhone with iOS 18 or later.
- For Brainstorm Buddy: Apple Intelligence, turned on (on a supported iPad with iPadOS 26 or later, or iPhone with iOS 26 or later) or, with Pod Performer Pro, an AI language model you bring yourself, which the app calls a “brain”.
- Pod Performer is in English.
Help inside the app
In the app's Settings, tap the question mark at the top for the full Help guide. You can watch the Welcome Tour again from there.
Common questions
How do I start my first show?
On the Shows screen, tap the + button and choose New Show, or Import a Script… to bring in a script you already have. The sample shows and templates that come with the app are a quick way to see how an episode is built; they're fiction, written for Pod Performer.
Which script files can I import?
Pod Performer imports plain text, Markdown, Fountain, Word (.docx), PDF, RTF and HTML files. Markdown, Fountain and Word files split into blocks at their headings, and so does a plain-text file with two or more Markdown-style headings (a # followed by a space, at the start of a line). PDF, RTF and HTML files arrive whole in the Scratch Pad, ready for you to split.
Where are my episodes?
When iCloud Drive is available to the app, your episodes are kept there; otherwise they stay on your device. Either way, you'll find them in the Files app under Pod Performer. They're ordinary files you can move, back up, share or delete.
How do live sessions work?
Every device needs Wi-Fi turned on, and Local Network access allowed for Pod Performer. The host opens the episode and chooses More › Live Session; everyone else taps Join Live Session on the Shows screen, then Join when the invitation arrives. On Pod Performer Lite the host brings in one co-host or guest. With Pro, a room holds up to six devices, the host included; after the show starts, the host taps Invite for anyone new. Joining is free with Pod Performer Lite. In a Pro host's room, the host's Pro covers every guest: their prompter plays the host's episode, however long, while they're in the room. A co-host who wants to edit the live rundown needs Pro on their own device.
A device can't find the session, or keeps losing it
- Check that Wi-Fi is on for every device.
- In your device's Settings app, open Privacy & Security › Local Network and make sure Pod Performer is allowed, on every device.
- Keep the devices near each other.
- If it still won't connect, a guest can tap Leave and join again; a host can quit Pod Performer and open it again.
What does Pro add?
Pod Performer is free to download, with limits. Pod Performer Pro is a one-time purchase through the App Store, with no subscription, and it unlocks more. The app lists what Pro unlocks before you buy.
How do I report a Brainstorm Buddy reply?
Touch and hold the reply and choose Report…. It opens an email to us with the reply as you see it, the name of the AI language model that wrote it, and the app's version. Add anything you'd like us to know, then send it; nothing is sent until you do. We read every report. If Mail isn't set up on your device, the report is copied so you can paste it into any mail app.
Why does a word in a Buddy reply show as ▒▒▒▒?
That's the reply filter. When the Buddy thinks with an AI language model you brought, it masks words from a built-in list of slurs, crude sexual slang and the strongest swearing, and the reply says Some words are filtered. It's on until you turn off Filter replies from brains you add in the app's Settings; then the masked words come back, because your chat keeps them. The filter changes what you see, never what you ask. Apple Intelligence has Apple's own safeguards, so the filter doesn't run there. What you copy, share or report matches what you see.
How do I restore my purchase?
In the app's Settings, tap Restore Purchases, on any device signed in to the App Store with the Apple ID you used to buy Pro.
How do I delete my data?
Swipe an episode or a show to delete it (there's no undo). Deleting one leaves its Buddy conversations in Chats, at the top of the Buddy; delete those there with a swipe (there's no undo either). Do that before you delete the last AI language model you brought: without a brain, the Buddy and its Chats don't show. Delete AI language models you brought from the app's Settings, under Brainstorm Brain. Our Privacy Policy explains what is removed when you delete the app.